


Dystopiantale

by Sansy_pansy



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Adult Frisk (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - Zombies, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Romance, Angst and Tragedy, Character Death, Depressed Sans (Undertale), Drama, Eventual Romance, Everyone Needs A Hug, Evil Chara (Undertale), F/F, F/M, Female Frisk (Undertale), Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Frisk (Undertale) Has Issues, Frisk (Undertale) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Frisk (Undertale) Is a Sweetheart, Frisk (Undertale) Needs a Hug, Frisk (Undertale)-centric, Gen, Gender-Neutral Chara (Undertale), Heavy Angst, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, I Made Myself Cry, I'm Sorry, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mutants, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Undertale Genocide Route, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route - "I want to stay with you.", Post-Undertale Soulless Pacifist Route, Prejudice Against Monsters (Undertale), Protective Sans (Undertale), Psychological Drama, Psychological Horror, Sans (Undertale) Needs a Hug, Sans (Undertale) Remembers Resets, Sans (Undertale)-centric, Soul Shenanigans (Undertale), Spoilers - Undertale Genocide Route, Spoilers - Undertale Pacifist Route, Survival Horror, Tags Contain Spoilers, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Tragic Love, Tragic Romance, Undertale Monsters on the Surface, Undertale Spoilers, Why Did I Write This?, Worried Sans (Undertale), You Have Been Warned, angst fest, another interpretation of zombies, but not really zombies though, lots of deaths, not a lot of puns sorry, only read this if you can deal with heavy ass angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:54:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 34,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23203558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sansy_pansy/pseuds/Sansy_pansy
Summary: Dystopia: noun - an imagined state or society in which there is great suffering or injustice, typically one that is totalitarian or post-apocalyptic.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------“Time’s up, Frisk. Now watch in fear as I raze everything you have ever loved to the ground!”"Stay determined, love.""You must survive, Sans. You are the only one who can stop this world from destruction."............h̸a̸v̸e̸ y̸o̸u̸ f̸o̸r̸g̸o̸t̸t̸e̸n̸? i̸n̸ t̸h̸i̸s̸ w̸o̸r̸l̸d̸, i̸t̸'s̸ k̸i̸l̸l̸ o̸r̸ b̸e̸ k̸i̸l̸l̸e̸d̸.Arc 1 (remastered): 2-14Arc 2: 15-???Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Undertale characters. All rights reserved.
Relationships: Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Asgore Dreemurr/Toriel, Frisk/Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 32
Kudos: 61





	1. Prologue

Ten years ago, a human fell down from the surface world, survived the precarious journey through the Underground, and released the monster civilization from a thousand years of imprisonment.

Ten years ago, Frisk had earned the title of Angel of the Underground and Ambassador of Monsters.

She had only been a child then. A young girl, barely in her teens, with many skeletons in her closet and an unhappy childhood. A girl who, despite all of her hardships and tribulations, still held her head high with DETERMINATION as she did all she could to give the monsters the freedom they craved after they had been wronged.

And now, Frisk Dreemurr was a proud young woman who stood tall as the pillar of HOPE for all monster kind with heavy responsibilities on her shoulders, and a dark past connected to an entirely different timeline that she wished she could forget.

* * *

Ebott City was a municipality like no other; the only city in the country where monsters and human lived peacefully as one. The first few years where monster integration had not been favorable were arduous times, and the human authorities certainly looked down with repugnance upon the fact that the monsters’ representative was in the form of a _human child_. However, after much effort and convincing from both Asgore and Toriel’s part, Frisk was able to maintain her title, all the while putting much focus and commitment into her studies in order to truly uphold her duties. She went to a prestigious university to study law and political affairs, and graduated with an outstanding diploma enough to make the human authorities regard her with respect, albeit with a little bit of indifference.

After that, it was much easier to secure a lot of rights in monsters’ favor. Most of them lived at the outskirts, close to the forest and the mountain that was once their prison, but the majority could finally move in and reside within the city. It took a few more months before monsters were allowed to roam free, seek employment and earn money. The humans were very reluctant to adapt to this sudden change, much less accept the fact that everything they ever heard or read about monsters were entirely false and imaginative. It went without saying that monster racism was very prominent at the time; humans already hated _other humans_ by their appearances and beliefs, and naturally monsters had to endure a lot of negativity and hate when they started pouring into Ebott City.

But now, thing had begun to settle down. As the years passed by, the humans acknowledged that monsters were, in truth, not that much different from them after all, and they were actually starting to get used to the new environment. There were still a minority of monster haters, but they were looked down upon with a lot of disregard from their own—but more responsible and open-minded—people, so they eventually chose to keep their distaste to themselves with only a few outbursts now and then (with highly deserved repercussions, of course).

As for Frisk, the young ambassador was filled with pride and contentment as she witnessed her friends and family finally living the life they have always dreamt of. Toriel worked at her own elementary school founded on a duality system, meaning both monster and human children were free to enroll, study and grow together. Undyne served justice proudly as a sergeant of Ebott Police Department, and she’d been married with Alphys for two years, who worked with Sans (having rediscovered his passion for science) alongside human scientists at the government’s laboratory as a researcher. Their contributions had helped humans to have a better understanding of SOULS and magic which was beneficial. As for Papyrus, he was currently running his own restaurant not too far from his and Sans’ home, the cooking skills he had harnessed over the years allowed him to indulge in his culinary desires. Mettaton had obviously became a national wide celebrity, Muffet opened her own one of a kind and famous bakery, whilst Grillby’s establishment held the honors of the most busy monster-human bar in the city.

Overall, Frisk was simply satisfied that she was able to give her loved ones the chance to start a new life.

On a more personal note, Frisk was living with both of her adopted parents. Asgore and Toriel had lots of time to reconcile and let go of the past over the years, and they have recently decided to renew their bond not only to give Frisk the perfect family she never had, but also to seize their second chance at love and parenting. Frisk was sure that they would never really forget about their past, but she was over the moon to see them happy again and ready to move on. That and the fact she now had _real_ parents too. Parents who truly loved her.

_~~Not those who would neglect her and abuse her on end, pushing her to the edge of suicide.~~ _

Everything was progressing normally, but.

If there was only one thing that bothered Frisk more than anything else, it was the silence in her mind. The silence that used to be filled with the unceasing whispers of the _demon-who-must-not-be-named_.

* * *

Back then, not even three years in, young Frisk had been very anxious and worried about the said spirit, always fearing that they would somehow regain control of her body (now that she sold them her SOUL) and force a RESET. Sans had explained to her the dangers of messing with the laws of time space continuum, and had expressed his dismay of that _less than happy_ iteration.

“ _Promise me,” He asked her with a hint of desperation. “Promise me that you won’t RESET again.” He looked as though he wanted to say something more, but refused to._

And Frisk, so terrified of disappointing her best friend and repeating the murders of her loved ones at the time, promised him that she would never take away their happy ending ever again. But she did warned him about her not-so-friendly invisible companion, and he promised her in return that if they would ever attempt to manipulate her, he would be there to remind her who she was and stop them at any cost.

* * *

“It seems as though we might have been worrying over nothing,” Frisk said with a content sigh as she absentmindedly ran a hand through her hazel brown hair. It had grown long past her shoulders, giving her a more feminine and mature look. “ _They_ haven’t said a word to me ever since we got to the surface. And that’s exactly ten years ago.”

“Really,” Sans hummed, shooting her a casual grin. “Maybe they’ve finally given up. _Tibia_ honest though, that’s kind of hard to believe, but I guess miracles do happen, huh.”

Frisk giggled lightly, casting a light-hearted glance at her skeleton best friend. They were hanging out on the open field that separated Mt. Ebott and the forest, where a perfectly green hill had been marked as their own secret place. The two mismatched duo would always get together on the nights where the night sky was clear and the stars were displayed beautifully for them to gaze upon, a private spot where they would talk about things none of their other friends would be able to understand, and just generally offer each other company. There was no denying that at some point, Sans and Frisk had begun to grow really close and developed a mutual attraction, but Frisk was too shy and Sans was simply too oblivious.

“For real though, I’m glad that we can move forward. Seeing how cheerful everyone was during the annual celebration of freedom just brings me joy,” Frisk subconsciously scooted closer to Sans, her sapphire blue eyes darted to the ground as she fiddled timidly with a strand of hair. “I’m glad that you seem happier too, Sans.”

The skeleton smiled genuinely before shifting his gaze back at the twinkling stars above. He would always be grateful that Frisk had brought HOPE back to his kind, allowed his brother to live a better life, and gave him all the stars in the night sky.

“Yeah, I do,” He replied. “All thanks to you, Frisk.”

“It’s the right thing to do.”

They fell into a comfortable silence after that, just enjoying each other’s presence as the minutes ticked by. All too soon, a text message ring from Frisk’s phone disrupted the tranquility and the brunette winced a little as she stared at the sender.

“Crap, it’s mom,” She sighed.

“Whoops,” Sans chuckled awkwardly. “We must have been gone longer than we thought.”

“Seems so, she’s asking me to come home immediately before it gets too late,” Frisk quickly sent Toriel a reply before standing up and dusting her jeans. “Mom and dad still treat me like a child sometimes.”

“They’re only worried about you because they’re afraid of messing up like in the past. I’m sure Tori and Asgore only want to protect you for your own well-being.”

“Yeah, I know,” She admitted. Then, she stared at him expectantly. “Shortcut me home, silly skelly?”

Sans snorted.

“Sure, legendary fart master.”

“Hey!”

They both laughed playfully before Sans took hold of Frisk’s hand, and they warped right in front of the Dreemurr estate in the blink of an eye. The monster reluctantly let go of her and watched as she walked up to the front door, only turning around to send him a shy and lovely smile accompanied with a small wave.

“Bye, Sans. Will you come hang out again with me soon?”

“No _bones_ about it, buddy,” He gave her a smile and a wave of his own, his eyelights a soft and affectionate glow. “Sweet dreams, Frisk.”

And he vanished from thin air, returning to the comfort of his own home.

As the young woman kissed her parents goodnight and made her way to her bedroom, she silently thanked the heavens above that everything was peaceful as the way it should be.

_~~But it was only the calm before the storm.~~ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for choosing to read Dystopiantale! All constructive criticism is welcome!


	2. Arc 1 - Ch.1 - A Vicious Cycle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> d̸i̸d̸ y̸o̸u̸ r̸e̸a̸l̸l̸y̸ t̸h̸i̸n̸k̸ t̸h̸a̸t̸ i̸t̸ w̸a̸s̸ o̸v̸e̸r̸?
> 
> i̸ a̸m̸ y̸o̸u̸r̸ w̸o̸r̸s̸t̸ n̸i̸g̸h̸t̸m̸a̸r̸e̸.
> 
> i̸ w̸i̸l̸l̸ r̸e̸m̸i̸n̸d̸ y̸o̸u̸ o̸f̸ y̸o̸u̸r̸ g̸r̸e̸a̸t̸e̸s̸t̸ f̸e̸a̸r̸.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Dystopiantale came to me as an idea when I listened to Survior Epic Cover by 2WEI for the first time. And I knew right then that I HAD to make this idea come to life.

_Darkness._

_It was the only thing Frisk saw when she opened her eyes._

_Confused and disoriented, the human slowly sat up and looked around. She couldn’t remember anything. She didn’t even know why she was here, in this cold and pitch black world._

_Deciding that she wasn’t going to sit around and do nothing, Frisk moved to stand up and began walking around, her arms held close to her body as the coldness started to seep through her skin, causing shivers to run down her spine. Only the echoing sounds of her footsteps could be heard, and the longer she lingered within this caliginous place, the more frightful she felt as her breath slowly quickened._

_“H-hello?” The human called out with uncertainty. “Is…is anyone there?”_

_Just then, as if to heed her call, a dim red glow blinked in the distance. It was so far, so weak, but enough to catch her attention. Frisk let out a relieved sigh as she picked up her pace towards the mysterious light. Upon closer inspection, a feeling of shock and bewilderment rushed through her as she realized that it was, in fact, a bright red SOUL glistening in the dark._

_“Is…is this…my SOUL?” Frisk asked seemingly to herself, a cautious hand reaching out to touch it._

_All of a sudden, she took a step back in horror as a black spot grew itself at the center of her SOUL, and began spreading its black tendrils around the red heart like a spider web, its light diminishing completely. Frisk fell down on her knees, clutching at the front fabric of her shirt as an excruciating pain coursed through her chest, causing her to cry out agonizingly._

_As if on cue, a dark and horrifying presence showed itself behind her blackened SOUL, its sharpened and elongated claws wrapped around the heart, threatening to consume it whole. The…beast, creature, whatever it was, glared at her with its piercing blood red eyes, its maniac grin malicious and terrifying. But what frightened Frisk the most wasn’t its appearance. No, it was the way it spoke, with a voice so hauntingly familiar, so full of hate and vice._

_“ **Yes Frisk, it’s your SOUL, the SOUL you so willingly gave up to SAVE your loved ones, after you have so mercilessly ended their lives,”** The beast cackled with glee. **“The SOUL that is now tainted with all of your sins…You can’t escape your sins, Frisk! N o w r e a p w h a t y O U H A V E S O W N !”**_

_Ignoring the pain in her chest, Frisk quickly crawled to her feet and began running in the opposite direction, determined to get as far away as possible from the terror that was unraveling before her eyes. However, not a second later, the same black tendrils that devoured her SOUL rose from the ground, latching onto her limbs and body, making it impossible for her to move. Frisk hyperventilated in fear as she struggled in vain, petrified as she witnessed the creature closing in on her._

**_“D i d y o u r e a l l y t h i n k t h a t I w o u l d l e t y o u e s c a p e ?”_ **

_Frisk let out a bloodcurdling scream as the beast lunged at her._

* * *

“Frisk? Frisk, are you all right? My child?” Asgore’s low and bass voice broke Frisk out of her trance.

“Huh? Oh, yes, yes, I-I’m fine,” The brunette forced a smile, putting down the stack of papers that she had clutched so tightly in her hands on the table. She immediately frowned when she noticed the scrunched up state they were in. “Oh shoot, sorry dad, I’ll go print another stack.”

“Frisk, now wait a second,” The monster King raised his hand, a look of worry edged on his face. “The papers are the least of my concerns at the moment. You have been very distracted as of late, and your mother and I have noticed that you haven’t been getting enough sleep. Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Dad, there’s nothing wrong with me, work has just gotten stressful recently, that’s all,” Frisk sighed, plopping down on the black leather seat in front of Asgore’s desk. “What with getting the foreign authorities from other continents to accept monster immigration, the monsters’ inequality in salary, the few violent acts against monsters caused by the racist movements…”

Asgore hummed understandingly, before standing up from his chair and faced the large windows of his office, his arms crossed behind his back.

“Come look at the city with me, my child.”

Frisk stared at him in mild confusion, but she walked to his side anyways and gazed down at the bustling and busy city that was their home. Her sapphire eyes observed every figure, human and monster alike, going about their day, interacting, working, walking, running, just generally living. As though they had been doing this all their lives. As though everything was normal.

Then, what exactly was this twisting feeling of anxiety turning in her stomach caused by her recurring nightmares?

“Over the past ten years, you have done so much to help monsters integrate into society and earn a peaceful life aboveground. Even when the human authorities refused to co-operate when you were younger, you still managed to prove them wrong and fought valiantly for our rights,” The goat monster’s voice was filled with pride. “And looking at the city now, I can see the outstanding results of your DETERMINATION and effort. Every monster looks up to you. Every human strives to be as generous and kind as you.”

Asgore turned to stare at his daughter with a caring expression on his face, his tone becoming fatherly as he placed a gentle paw on her shoulder.

“But I’ve come to realize that, perhaps, no one has ever stopped to think of how much pressure that puts on you, and just how much you need to understand that even the Savior of monsters can’t shoulder that entire burden by herself.”

“Dad…”

“All I’m trying to say is, if there is anything that troubles you at all, be it about work or on a more personal note, you can depend on your friends and family. You are not alone, my child,” He spoke more firmly. “Depending on others is not a sign of weakness, in the contrary; it is a sign of trust and solidarity.”

Frisk pressed her lips into a thin line. She was grateful that her father was trying to comfort her, but being the selfless person that she was, Frisk felt guilty that she had let her concentration slipped and ended up worrying him. She wasn’t going to be a whim, she was a full grown woman and she could deal with her problems alone. Fighting for the good of her people was more important, because she wasn’t just the ambassador; she was the Princess of monsters. Monarch titles did not ensure much power, but it did ensure heavy responsibilities.

“I’m thinking that if you are having, ah, _repercussions_ on your mental health because of your childhood memories…You should try to get ahold of your therapist again, and—”

“Dad, I’m feeling fine, really, and it has nothing to do with that,” Frisk interrupted him with a reassuring smile, even though it was fake. “It’s just stress and insomnia, that’s all. I promise everything is okay. Don’t worry, I have everything under control.”

Asgore furrowed his brow disapprovingly, however he chose to leave it at that, trusting that Frisk was old enough to make wise decisions and she would tell him immediately if there were things she couldn’t handle on her own. He sighed resignedly and patted his daughter’s shoulder.

“If you say so, my child.”

* * *

_Frisk panted heavily as she ran, ran and ran, further, the beast is coming, it’s going to catch her, she mustn’t stop, just keep running—_

_**“D i d y o u r e a l l y t h i n k y o u c a n r u n f r o m m e ?”** The now familiar malicious cackle shook her to the very core, its screeching voice echoing throughout the darkness._

_Don’t stop, just keep going, she could survive this, she couldn’t let it catch her, go, go, go, further, a little bit more—_

_Suddenly, the ground below her dissolved into gooey, sticky quick sand, engulfing her feet and pulling her downwards. Frisk tried to scream, she tried to swim away, but she was sinking deeper, deeper, she couldn’t breathe anymore, she couldn’t die like this, she had to escape, please, please, just stop it, just please **SPARE HER—**_

* * *

Sans was lazing around on the green couch in his and Papyrus’ home, taking a well-deserved nap on a quiet Saturday afternoon, when suddenly his phone rang and jolted him out of sleep. With a tired huff, he reached inside his hoodie pocket and took the call without looking at the ID.

“Hello?” He yawned.

“Good afternoon, my friend,” Toriel spoke with a hint of amusement. “I see you have been napping before my call. I’m sorry about that.”

“Nah, it’s fine Tori,” Sans sat up straight and scratched his skull sleepily. “Just had a long evening at work yesterday. So, what’s up?”

“Well, I was hoping you could help me with a small matter,” He could hear the concern and hesitance in the goat monster’s voice through the phone. “It’s about Frisk.”

Well, _that_ certainly woke him up.

“Wh-what’s wrong with Frisk? Did something bad happen?” Sans could already feel the pressure in his non-existent nerves. “Do you need me to come over or something?”

“No, it’s nothing dire, it’s just that…” Toriel sighed. “She’s been behaving very…out of place these days. I think she may have some sort of internal struggle, but she refuses to tell neither me nor Asgore anything. We’re very worried…”

“Right, and you want me to coax her into confessing her problems, is that it?” Sans internally relaxed that Frisk wasn’t in any danger at least. The two goat monsters weren’t the only ones to have noticed their daughter’s strange behavior though. The last time they hung out, Sans definitely saw that Frisk didn’t seem like she was holding up quite well, and being the ever considerate best friend he was, he invited her to a movie night with him and Papyrus at their house to cheer her up. She had seemed to enjoy herself, but apparently that did little to nothing to improve her mental health.

“I just assumed that since you two are very close, you might reach her a lot easier than we would,” Toriel answered. “Please try to convince her to take her mind off of work for a little and, perhaps also consider contacting her therapist if it’s a serious problem.”

“Of course, Tori, I’ll talk to her. I can’t assure you that it’ll be easy, since Frisk is hella stubborn sometimes, but I’ll try my best.”

“Thank you, Sans. You truly are a great friend.”

Sans stared at the screen of his phone, contemplating whether to call or message his best friend and how exactly was he going to bring up the topic gently as to not risk her closing off from him. Truth to be told, he was a little bit disappointed that Frisk didn’t trust him enough to confide in him, since they had always talked to one another about their problems and fears, and he thought that they shouldn’t feel like they should keep anything to themselves. Another wrong assumption, he supposed.

And so, with much conviction in his mind, he dialed Frisk’s number and invited her to go to Grillby’s with him that evening. The latter naturally accepted, and that was how they found themselves inside a booth, dining on burgers and fries at the fire elemental’s renowned bar.

“So, uh, buddy, I can’t help but notice that something’s been on your mind lately. Care to share what’s bothering you?” Sans tested the waters.

“Let me guess,” Frisk deadpanned. “Mom called you earlier today to ask you to make me confess. Am I right?”

 _Of course she’s not gonna take the bait that easily,_ Sans grumbled internally.

“My answer won’t be any different, everything is fine, and there’s nothing to worry about,” Frisk continued stubbornly.

“Frisk, we’re best pals, aren’t we?” Sans spoke with a bit of annoyance. “You know you can tell me anything and I won’t judge you for it.”

“Pffft, that’s funny coming from the former ‘Judge’ of the Underground,” Frisk snorted humorlessly.

“I’m serious, Frisk. You shouldn’t feel the need to hide anything from me; I’ve always been there for you.”

“Not when I really needed you,” She retorted bitterly before she could stop herself.

That definitely shot a pang of guilt through both of them at the same time, Frisk regretting immediately what she said and Sans regretting the time where he failed to help her the countless times she died in the Underground in all of the previous timelines. The skeleton seemed to shrank into himself as he went completely silent, remembering _that_ iteration where he had to kill her over and over again. Frisk’s eyes soften as she hesitantly reached for his hand on the table and held it gently. Sans’s head perked up, his cheekbones a very light dusting blue.

“I’m sorry Sans, I…I shouldn’t have said that. You’re right, you’re my best friend and you’ve always supported me no matter what. But I don’t want to trouble you or the others about my own problems; I just want you to be happy and carefree now that you’re all living the life you’ve wanted.”

Sans instinctively squeezed her hand.

“I’m not happy if you aren’t,” He frowned.

“I know,” She gave him a sad smile. “But I try to be, for your sake.”

_I don’t want you to try. I want to make you happy for real. I’m worried about you._

But he was a coward, he couldn’t say them out loud and a nagging fear pulled at his SOUL at he stared into her eyes, the sapphire hues that once shone brighter than the gem itself, now filled with resignation and woe.

* * *

_“Enough, please stop it, I’m begging you,” Frisk cried desperately, jerking her limbs to try to escape from the black vines that were burning her skin and crushing her bones. “It hurts, it hurts too much, please stop!”_

_**“If you think this is too much, then you haven’t begun to fathom the worst pain I have in store for you!”** The beast growled, its fangs glinting menacingly even though there were no light to reflect them. As if on cue, the tendrils started to bend her body backwards into a horrendous arch._

_She can’t breathe, she can’t scream, she was dying, someone help her, she couldn’t take it anymore, somebody **please SAVE HER—**_

_The last thing she heard was the sound of her spine cracking._

* * *

“To be honest, I’m quite surprised when you contacted me, Frisk,” The middle-aged woman commented, pushing her glassed up with a finger. Her jet black hair was up in a professional bun, and her copper eyes flicked occasionally from her patient to the monster sitting next to her. “I had assumed you were getting better, but apparently I was wrong.”

“I…Well…I thought I was doing better too, but the…the nightmares started and…I…” Frisk fidgeted with her hands, her nerves unease and her anxiety coursing. She shot Sans a grateful smile when he placed his hand on her shoulder comfortingly, and took a deep breath before continuing. “I…I’ve been experiencing recurring nightmares…They’re very t-terrifying, very violent, and they’ve been affecting my mental health…I had a night terror about two days ago, and I haven’t been able to sleep since then…”

“I see,” The therapist nodded, taking notes of Frisk’s words. “Can you describe them to me? Do they have any connections with the abuse you’ve endured during your childhood?”

“N-no, th-they…” Frisk swallowed the bile in her throat. “Th-there’s always this…this presence, something…something that’s always tormenting me…Something with…red eyes, sharp claws…A horrifying voice…”

“A demon, you mean?” The therapist inquired.

Both Sans and Frisk froze.

“E-excuse me?”

“You pretty much describe what seems most likely a demon to me,” The woman replied, her brows furrowing at the petrified expression on both of their faces. “Or…is that not the case?”

A demon.

_A **demon.**_

“ _Chara…_ ” Frisk whispered dreadfully.

**_~~The demon that comes when you call its name.~~ _ **


	3. Arc 1 - Ch.2: A Skeleton's Resolve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I won't stand by and watch you suffer alone. 
> 
> I won't let them take control of you.
> 
> I will SAVE you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was actually planning to work on this AU around Easter, but now with the virus outbreak, the national confinement and all that, I decided that it's no time like other to write the story. I'll be posting a new chapter for each day, so keep an eye out! *wink wink* Please forgive me if my some of my phrasing seem weird, English is not my first language (^_^)'
> 
> And remember, wash your hands, stay indoors and be safe everyone!

Sans tossed and turned on his bed, grunting at incessant ringing coming from his phone. He had half a mind to just Gaster Blaster the thing, but then reconsidered the thought that Papyrus wouldn’t be very pleased to wake up to a tremendous burnt hole on the wall of their house.

With an annoyed growl, he reached out mindlessly to the bed table and grabbed the damn device. His eyesockets widened in confusion at Frisk’s name blinking on the screen.

“Kid, what in the hell,” Sans spoke with a husky voice, still mildly frustrated at being woken up from deep slumber but did not want to direct irritation at his favorite human. “Do you have any idea what time is--…Are-are you…crying?”

Even with the slight static in the call, his non-existent ears did not misheard the small sniffles emitted by a clearly distressed Frisk.

“I-I'm sorry, S-Sans…I…” She hiccuped slightly. “C-Can you c-come to o-our secret place, at the hill? I-I had another n-nightmare and…I…I snuck out of…”

“You snuck out of your house?” Sans ran an exasperated hand down his face. “Frisk, you know how dangerous it is to wander outside alone!”

Frisk tried to say something else, but the only thing that came out was more sniffles. Sans’ SOUL tugged worryingly and he sighed in defeat before speaking in a gentle tone to shush her soft cries.

“Stay put buddy, I’ll be right there.”

* * *

Frisk pulled her legs as close to her body as possible, burying her head into her knees. She shivered slightly as a breeze of wind blew by and she began to regret not putting on more layers of clothing. She was still wearing her PJs, and she only managed to grab a light jacket during her escapade. Frisk was very shaken from the latest encounter with the demon of her dreams and she gave little thought to safety and all that when she had decided to sneak out of home to reach this secluded spot. The brunette didn’t know why she had that impulse though, but there was something about the place that she so often hung around with Sans that just gave her the comfort of tranquility, away from her fears.

As the said skeleton appeared in a flash of blue light, he flinched in shock at the sight of Frisk so anxious and downcast. A surge of protectiveness washed over him when he noticed just how small and helpless Frisk looked at the moment, and he rushed to take off his cherished blue hoodie and wrapped it around her shoulders before holding her in his arms. Frisk immediately leant into his touch.

“You’re very careless, you know that?” He frowned disapprovingly.

“I’m sorry…I just had to come here…It calms me down and helps me think,” She softly nuzzled her head into his chest, delighted at the warmth of his protective embrace. “It was strange…I…I really saw Chara. They’re…they’re not the same beast like in the other ones…”

Frisk felt his shoulders tense.

“What happened this time?” He asked carefully.

The human let out a shaky sigh as she trembled, and Sans hugged her tighter.

* * *

_“It’s been far too long, Frisk,” Chara smiled wickedly, dressed in the same green and yellow-striped sweater and brown pants as they had when Frisk saw them for the first time, their blood red eyes twinkling with malice. “You really thought you finally got rid of me, did you?”_

_Frisk involuntarily took a step back, her nerves shooting through the roof and adrenaline rushing inside her body. She was prepared to bolt at a moment’s notice, however the demon chuckled and began approaching her slowly, like a predator intimidating its prey._

_“I wouldn’t do that. I think you already know what would happen, if the last few nightmares have taught you anything about running away from me.”_

_“What do you want from me? Why are you doing this to me?” Frisk shouted with resentment and desperation. “What is your purpose?!”_

_In a blink of an eye, Chara disappeared from view and reappeared right behind the frightful human’s back, their hands gripping her shoulders threateningly._

_“Oh, but **you** of all people should know exactly what I want, **partner** ,” They purred, their voice dripping with honey. “Why else do you think I’d let you RESET the timeline so you can take them all to the surface?”_

_The insinuation behind the demon’s words shook Frisk to the core. She didn’t want to believe that she had been played for a fool all this time, that she would be so stupid as to think that the price she had to pay to make things right after her genocidal acts wouldn't lead to any dreadful consequences._

_But it wasn’t possible to think that someone as corrupted Chara wouldn’t act for their own benefit._

_“I can hear what you’re thinking, Frisk,” The spirit hissed at her face, and she winced as she tried to turn away. “It’s very ironic that you would regard me as a vile being, you know. After all, I was only finishing what **you** started.”_

_“I know what I did. But I’ll die before I let you take control of me for your own wicked schemes. So you might as well give up,” Frisk declared firmly._

_Chara only laughed as they moved to stand directly in front of Frisk, making it impossible to avoid eye contact._

_“Your DETERMINATION isn’t more powerful than mine, partner,” They spat venomously, and the brunette watched in horror as black goo began to drip from their eyes and their wide grin. **“I will continue to torment you until you break and succumb to me w i l l i n g l y .”**_

* * *

“Chara hates humans,” Frisk added at the end of her retelling, her voice no louder than a whisper. “I think they have been plotting to take control of me to finish what they have planned with Asriel from the beginning…They want to eradicate humanity.”

Sans took a deep breath. Truth to be told, there was a lot that he couldn’t even begin to process, and the fact that the despicable brat was hurting and harrowing Frisk to the point where her mental health was deteriorating just made his marrow boil. And to top it off, their presence must be afflicting Frisk’s SOUL in ways that he didn’t even want to think about. She didn’t deserve any of this.

“I’m scared, Sans,” His SOUL clenched painfully at the desperation in her tone. “I don’t know how much more I can take…I don’t want to give in to them…I don’t want to hurt anyone…”

“You won’t, Frisk. You’re so much stronger than you think,” He reassured her with a soft gaze as he leant back a little to wipe away the fresh tears that were running down her cheeks with one hand. Her eyes sparkled like stars at his soothing words.

Even when she cried, she was still so beautiful.

“And you won’t have to deal with this alone,” Sans continued. “I’m going to find a way to separate that demon from your SOUL. It won’t be easy, but if it’s for your peace of mind, then I will make sure it works.”

The brunette’s lips curved into a smile as she buried her face into his shirt again, her arms coming up to return his embrace.

“Thank you. I’m so glad you’re here with me, Sans.”

“What are friends for, buddy?” The monster chuckled warmly. “Now then, I think I should teleport you back. It’s still mid-February, and I really don’t want you to catch a cold.”

Frisk slowly nodded, but then she looked away from him, blushing timidly.

“Um, actually…If-if it doesn’t bother you…I…I don’t really want to sleep alone after that…um…” She fidgeted slightly.

“…Oh,” Sans realized her subtle request after a second of confusion, and he fake coughed into his hand before scratching the back of his vertebrae whilst smiling awkwardly, an identical blue blush appearing on his cheekbones as well. “N-no, I don’t mind, uh, I’ll take you back to my place then…I’ll just leave your mom a message later on.”

“Okay.”

* * *

After tucking the tired human into his bed, Sans opted for sitting on the ground with his back against the bedframe, simply holding her hand as a gesture of comfort. He was very tempted to lie next to her and hold her in his arms, but as far as boundaries went, they were still only best friends and he felt the need to keep a certain distance as to respect her privacy.

Sleep came much easier for Frisk after that, and Sans smiled affectionately as he reached up to gently brush a strand of hair away from her forehead and caressed her cheek with his knuckles. He watched over her a few more minutes until his eye sockets became heavy and unable to stay open for any longer.

* * *

For the next few months, Sans devoted all of his focus in looking deeper into the studies of human SOULS and DETERMINATION. He even had Alphys to help since he was more of a physician than a biologist, and the lizard monster had more than just knowledge and information about anything related to humans’ most powerful SOUL trait. Together, they spent most of their days holed up in Alphys’ personal lab researching, testing and generally analyzing some of the said scientist’s old notes from the time she worked on the subject of the Amalgamates.

“Is it possible to separate an entity from a SOUL that it has possessed?” Sans asked with a serious tone.

“Wh-what? Why would any being be able to possess a SOUL?” Alphys stared at him in surprise. “I don’t think…It’s impossible to—”

“Al,” He sighed. “I…How to explain this…There’s a, well, spirit inhabiting inside Frisk’s SOUL and it’s very corruptive. I need to help her remove it.”

Alphys remained speechless. She gaped at him in shock for a few seconds before rushing to one of her many filling cabinets and pulling out a various number of documents of her researches on every SOUL phenomenon filled with detailed records of past experiments. She placed all of them down on the table where she and Sans were currently occupying.

“Tell me more,” The lizard requested, a pencil and a blank sheet of note ready in her claws.

* * *

“It is with deep regret that I bring you some unfortunate news,” Frisk spoke calmly, addressing many of the reporters and cameras that gathered before her on this press conference. “Due to some unforeseeable health conditions, I will be absent from the embassy for an indefinite amount of time. However, I assure you that I will still take care of urgent affairs from home, on paper and by mail. I do not intend to abandon monsters by any means.”

“Ambassador Dreemurr,” One of the journalists raised their hand. “What about your work here at the embassy? Who will stand in as your replacement?”

“I have already talked with my colleague and assistant Derrick Turner, and I have faith that he is more than capable to substitute my work during my temporary absence.”

“What exactly are the health issues that you’re facing? Are they serious? Will you be forced to demission?” Another journalist insisted.

“No comment,” Frisk replied curtly.

* * *

Unfortunately, the young woman’s decision had led to some undesirable consequences, one of them being the anti-monster movement becoming a bit bolder, now that the monster ambassador had taken a provisional leave, however the EPD (Ebott Police Department) were doing their best to apprehend any protesters and criminals. Undyne always complained about the rising crime rate against monsters every time all of them gathered together for brunch at the Dreemurrs’ estate on the weekends.

“Those damn racists…They’re really barking up the wrong tree,” The fish monster growled frustratingly. “I mean, it’s been ten years for fuck’s sake, can’t they give us a break?”

“Undyne, language,” Toriel warned.

“I’m sorry, it’s my fault,” Frisk apologized. “Maybe I’ve been a bit selfish…”

“What are ya even talking about, punk? You shouldn’t be feeling sorry for that!” Undyne patted her on the back. “Of course it’s not your fault! I’m sure we’ll get this problem solved in no time; you just focus on getting better, ya got that?”

The human shot her friend a smile, but Sans could see immediately that it was forced. A familiar rush of protectiveness coursed through his bones as he made a silent promise to do everything in his power to free Frisk from torment.

This was a promise he intended to keep.


	4. Arc 1 - Ch.3: For Frisk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wise men say only fools rush in.
> 
> But I can't help falling in love with you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was literally shaking in happiness when I wrote the fluff for this chapter. I just love Frans so much!!!!!!!
> 
> Oh, btw, enjoy the fluffiness while you still can. ;) *evil laughter* #totallynotforeshadowingsomethingterrible #nope

Sans rubbed his eye sockets tiredly, glancing up at the clock hanging on the wall in Alphys’ lab. It had been exactly one week since the two monster scientists had begun working on finding an answer to the Frisk and Chara problem from late evening until the ungodly hours in the morning, and yet it frustrated him to no end that they hadn’t been making any progress. It was as though he was grasping at straws and there was nothing more discouraging than the image of an accusative Frisk with her disappointment directed at him.

Heaving an exhausted sigh, he was about to call it off for the day before a very specific book about SOUL bonds lying around unattended caught his attention. Sans grabbed it off of the workstation and started flipping through the pages.

“Hey Al, do you think the separation could be done as how a SOUL bond could be broken?”

Alphys turned to look at Sans with an apprehensive gaze, her movement hesitant and uncomfortable. Breaking a bond between soulmates was a very, very rare to never occurrence and it was such a taboo subject among their kind that most monsters would often find it unpleasant to discuss about, mainly because one wouldn’t be able to live through the pain and agony that accompanied the process.

“W-well, the King and Queen are the only ones to have survived a divide in their bond only to renew it again after so many years,” She wrung her hands nervously. “But that might have something to do with them being boss monsters…I-it’s very uncommon since a SOUL bond is normally due for a lifetime…”

“So, it’s dangerous, but not entirely impossible,” Sans concluded as he read a detailed description of the excruciating procedure. “It’s not exactly identical, but if we look at how exactly a bond is formed, then the Frisk-Chara situation does share one distinct similarity.”

“How so?” The lizard titled her head confusedly.

“When a monster bond with their soulmate, a piece of their lover’s SOUL is incarnated in their own, right?” Sans explained. “In this case, Chara’s spirit is simply a fragment inside Frisk’s SOUL, leeching off of her DETERMINATION in order to survive. We may have to perform a scan to confirm that theory, but if it’s true, then I’m sure their separation could be done the same way a SOUL bond could be broken.”

“Sans, I think you should reconsider another option,” Alphys intervened as she took the book from his hands. “The separation would have to undergo a very intense process with a lot of magic involved that could cause undesirable side effects, and if Chara is really fused with Frisk’s DETERMINATION like you said, then there’s a chance that we’d unintentionally drain her very source of life and she could be in grave danger.”

A look of vexation was edged on the skeleton’s skull as his malleable bony lips were pressed into a thin line, empty eyesockets burning a hole into the ground. There was no other way they could solve this problem, but he did not want to endanger Frisk’s well-being anymore than it already was. His non-existent brain was wracking wildly in search of a better solution, and an imaginary light bulb switched on in his head, his eyelights blinking back to life in an instant. He remembered the time when his father, Doctor W.D. Gaster, was still alive, working on various experiments connected to DETERMINATION in the Underground. The former scientist had invented the DT Extraction Machine, and Sans knew that when Alphys took over his place, there had to be some raw DT samples remaining in the True Lab that she had left behind after her previous project on the fallen-monsters-turned-Amalgamates.

Those samples could be used to enhance Frisk’s endurance to weaken any possible threats that would definitely occur. And with just the right materials and a little bit (or a lot) of time, he should be able to construct an appropriate device to extract that accursed demon out of his best friend’s SOUL. There was also the possibility that Chara would materialize and start wreaking havoc, but that was what he was here for.

It was risky, but perhaps with a lot of precautions, they could make this work.

Sans explained the course of his plans to Alphys, and the lizard simply let out a worried sigh, turning her back to him reclusively. She warned him in a resigned tone.

“There will be dire consequences for this. We shouldn’t be tampering with human SOULS, Sans. And most certainly not DETERMINATION; trust me, I should know.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Sans dismissed the warning with conviction. “I’ll do any means necessary to SAVE Frisk.”

“That’s…a very heroic thing to say,” She glanced at him with admiration and mirth. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re ready to put everything on the line for Frisk because you love her.”

The skeleton stood frigid for a solid three minutes, before slowly lowering his skull. When he spoke again, his voice was a soft whisper of acknowledgement.

“Yeah, I do.”

Alphys smiled kindly, and she promised to help her two friends to the best of her abilities.

* * *

A few weeks passed by, and it was during a beautiful April afternoon that Frisk had gone out for a short trip to the pharmacy. It was one of those spring days with a kiss of coldness that somehow heightened the warm rays of the sun, and the sky held a soft blue glow. A light-hearted grin found its way onto the brunette’s face as she delighted in the moment of serenity. Her condition had been improving, albeit at a slow but steady pace, all thanks to the few sleeping medications her therapist had recommended to ease her recurring nightmare problem. Frisk was positive that she would be able to resume her ambassador work very soon.

On her way back, she gasped a little in glee at the familiar figure of one of her close friends, the ever so eccentric and free-spirited “Great Papyrus”, his tremendous height making it impossible to mistake for anyone else.

“Papyrus, hey!” Frisk waved enthusiastically. “Over here!”

“OH! WHAT A PLEASANT SURPRISE TO SEE YOU HERE, FRISK,” Papyrus said with his usual boisterous voice as he made his way over to her.

“I was just going out to buy some soporific to help me sleep at night,” Frisk eyed the many bags full of groceries in his hands. “Would you like me to help carry some of those for you?”

“I HAVE THE SITUATION PERFECTLY UNDER CONTROL,” He puffed his chest proudly. “BUT, IF YOU INSIST, THEN YOU ARE WELCOME TO LEND THE GREAT PAPYRUS A HELPING HAND, MY DEAR HUMAN FRIEND!”

Frisk giggled fondly. She had always had a soft spot for the younger skeleton brother; he was just so friendly and lovable that it was impossible to hate him. He didn’t have a single bad _bone_ in his body (heh) and his optimism was highly contagious.

The two of them walked together until they reached the skelebros’ house, about five blocks away from the royal family’s estate. Sans and Papyrus had chosen to live in a nice and modest two-storey house, even though the former was pretty well-off thanks to his salary as a government’s scientist. They could easily move into a much more captivating and upgraded one, however the brothers preferred a place where they both felt comfortable and right at home, and that was enough.

“THANK YOU FOR YOUR BRILLIANT ASSISTANCE, FRISK! YOU MAY PUT THE BAGS OVER THERE,” Papyrus gestured to the kitchen table.

“Sure, there you go,” Frisk placed them down before scanning the house expectantly for the other skeleton. “Where’s Sans? Is he sleeping?”

“I WISH HE WOULD,” The younger brother sighed. “SANS HAS BEEN HOLED UP IN HIS WORKSHOP DOWN THE BASEMENT FOR DAYS. HE APPEARS TO BE WORKING ON SOME VERY IMPORTANT PROJECT AND HE WON’T EVEN COME OUT OF THERE TO TAKE A BREAK!”

“Really?” The human frowned worriedly. “Oh gosh, I hope he’s at least taking care of himself properly…”

“YOU’D BE DISAPPOINTED! I BET HE HASN’T EVEN EATEN TODAY!” Papyrus rubbed his temples. “AND TO THINK THERE WOULD BE A DAY WHERE I ACTUALLY MISS SEEING HIM RANDOMLY NAPPING AROUND THE HOUSE WHEN HE’S HOME…”

“I’ll go talk to him. I happen to be pretty convincing if I want to,” Frisk winked.

“MARVELOUS! GO AHEAD, AND GOOD LUCK ON YOUR CONVINCING QUEST! DRAG HIM OUT BY FORCE IF YOU HAVE TO!”

Frisk nodded, the all too familiar rush of DETERMINATION coursing inside her veins. She opened the door that led to the basement and began descending the stairs. She was met with a rare and surprising sight; a very serious Sans hunching over his blueprints, his brow bones furrowed in concentration and his hands constantly measuring and writing notes. At the corner of the workshop, she could make out the shape of an unfinished machine. The monster himself was so engrossed in his work that he didn’t even notice the human sneaking up behind him with a playful grin.

“Boo!” She shouted.

“Ahh!” He flinched, turning around and staring at her in shock with his flashing blue eye. “Frisk, what the hell?! Don’t do that!”

“Looks like I made you jump out of your _skin_ , silly skelly,” Frisk laughed, her eyes crinkling with mirth.

“Har har, very funny. What are you doing here anyways?”

“Papyrus told me that you haven’t been taking good care of yourself,” Her tone changed abruptly and Sans shuffled nervously under her slightly scolding gaze. “I’m worried about you too. It’s been a while since I’ve heard anything from you…”

“I’m working on something that will help your little ‘Chara issue’,” He glared pointedly at her chest where he knew the damn brat was residing in her SOUL. “Alphys and I have come up with a plan and we’re trying to get it done as quickly as possible.”

Frisk stared down at her feet guiltily. _You’re so selfish_ , she chided herself, _it’s because of you that Sans has to neglect his health, making Papyrus worry about him. Alphys must be exhausted too. You good-for-nothing garbage. You’re such a dead weight._

“Hey, I know that look,” Sans stepped closer as he gently lifted her chin, his eyelights gentle and caring. “You better not be blaming yourself again. I’m the one who decided to help you and I don’t care how tiring it is, I won’t stand by and watch them hurt you any longer.”

Stars knew he regretted deeply for his inactive negligence in all of the previous timelines when Frisk really needed him, and perhaps it was because of the lack of a supportive friend that she had begun to resent those who'd had a hand in her many deaths and had decided to return the favor under Chara’s influence.

He would dust himself before he would lose Frisk to that homicidal demon again, even more so now that he had acknowledged his affections.

Frisk stared at her monster friend with a thankful smile before convincing him to take a break and hang out with her, since it had been quite a long time and frankly, she knew he needed a serious time out to catch up on his health. Sans admitted defeat rather easily (he couldn’t deny her anything and he was so grateful that she hadn’t discovered that little fact…yet) and the two of them went for a drink at Grillby’s, generally making small talk and reminiscing about the good old times where they would prank the others repeatedly to their SOULS’ content and even indulging in a never-ending prank war. They ended their evening out with the traditional journey to their secret hill to stargaze and it was then that Frisk finally gathered the courage to ask about the plan Sans and Alphys had formulated.

“We’ve figured out manageable solution, and there are a lot of risks to take,” He told her solemnly. “But I’ll make sure to minimize the danger as much as possible, and I’m going to use as much resources as I can find to ensure a successful outcome.”

“So then, the blueprints you were working on earlier…”

“I’m building a machine that would be able to extract Chara from your SOUL. It’s not done yet, and it’s far from perfect, but it’s the best chance we’ve got. I won’t rest until it’s finished and working properly,” He declared.

Frisk’s eyes were wet and blurry from unshed tears, as his resolve had touched the most vulnerable corners of her fragile SOUL. She couldn’t believe that he would go to such lengths for her sake.

“You would do that? For me?” She whispered shakily, her voice thick with emotion.

The skeleton stared longingly into Frisk’s sapphire hues, his phalanges caressing her cheek tenderly as an affectionate smile found its way on his skull. He could hear his own SOUL racing inside his ribcage.

“I would do anything for you.”

Sans softly brushed her bottom lip with his thumb, leaning closer to her with an unspoken question hanging in the air. The human simply closed her eyes, and with her silent permission, they shared their first kiss under the glistening moonlight.


	5. Arc 1 - Ch.4: The End Of The Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They have all been living in a long, peaceful dream.
> 
> i̸t̸'s̸ t̸o̸o̸ l̸a̸t̸e̸ t̸o̸ r̸e̸a̸l̸i̸z̸e̸ t̸h̸a̸t̸ n̸o̸w̸.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the late update, I've been a little bit too caught up in homework sent by my teachers through mail, I had to make sure to finish some of them before there are too much to do (^_^)' So here's the chapter you've been waiting! It's a bit longer than the previous ones, so bear with me xD

“Um, i-is this going to hurt?” Frisk asked nervously, trying her best to keep still. There was just something so…ominous and scary about lying on an examination table in a laboratory, as though she was a character in some sort of mad science horror film.

“It won’t, I promise,” Alphys reassured. “I’m only going to examine your SOUL through a scanner so Sans and I can take a look at its condition. It’ll be very quick, don’t worry.”

Frisk nodded with relief. Maybe she shouldn’t be so paranoid about this. Besides, she knew that her friends wouldn’t ever hurt her intentionally. Especially not Sans, who was sending her a loving and encouraging smile from across the room, standing in front of several large screen monitors with his back facing the control panels. She gave him a grateful one in return, her chest filled with adoration and her cheeks slightly flushing pink. Everytime they looked at each other, Frisk was reminded of that wonderful and tender moment of their first kiss. It happened only a month ago, but it still felt like yesterday and her stomach still fluttered with butterflies each time she replayed the scene inside her mind.

Although, the only downside was the fact that Chara seemed to act very strange after that evening. The nightmares stopped coming, and Frisk was beginning to dread their eerie silence. They were only this quiet when they were plotting, _conspiring_. It was definitely not a good sign. The past ten years had taught her that much.

As for Sans, he couldn’t be happier that he was finally able to call the human his lover. He certainly wasn’t planning to take this opportunity for granted; far from that, he was going to make sure her happiness and well-being would always be his first priority (aside from his little brother’s). Frisk was an amazing person, she was beautiful inside and out and stars knew she deserved _so much better_ than he could ever give her, but Sans had promised himself that he would cherish her and be the best damn boyfriend he could be, starting with allowing her a peace of mind far, _far_ away from the detestable demon possessing her SOUL.

Alphys readjusted the scanner above the examination table so it would hang directly above Frisk’s chest before giving Sans an affirmative nod. The latter took the signal and turned around, his phalanges flying over the controls to activate the machine. It hummed to life and Frisk held her breath as an artificial wide beam shot out and ran back and forth on the surface of her torso. She couldn’t feel a thing, fortunately, and her curious sapphire eyes shifted to the lizard monster as she walked to Sans’ side and began examining the image of the brimming red SOUL on the largest screen monitor that was in the middle, whilst the results were simultaneously displayed as numbers and graphics on the other ones.

All three of them momentarily froze in horror as they stared at the thick, vicious black tendrils that were latching onto Frisk’s SOUL like a thick spider web, pulsing intimidatingly and sucking small red particles of DETERMINATION into its seam. 

“H-holy mother of Asgore, I’ve never seen a-anything this…this _horrendous_ ,” Alphys said breathlessly.

Sans was so appalled that he clenched his fists tightly, an unspeakable feeling of nausea, dread and _loathing_ threatening to consume him. His bones were even rattling with the sheer force of keeping his emotions in check.

Frisk…

Frisk felt like she was going to be _sick_.

There was a literal _abomination_ that was literally _leeching off her_ _life essence_ to survive, grabbing onto her SOUL so tightly that it was almost _breaking_ it, a few visible cracks could be spotted if one examined very closely around the edges where the tendrils were clutching. The abomination that was _Chara_ themself.

_~~The price to pay for her irreversible sins.~~ _

She could already feel the tears welling up in her eyes in remorse and her throat closing up the longer she stared at her damaged SOUL, and somewhere in the back of her mind, she could hear _their_ venomous and sadistic laugh.

“Please stop looking at it, I-I can’t…” She choked.

She felt so terrified, so shameful. _So pathetic._

“Frisk, sweetheart,” The skeleton snapped out of his own raging thoughts and rushed over to his lover’s side, helping her down the table and embracing her tightly as she grabbed onto his shirt and started sobbing softly. Alphys was quick to deactivate the machine, saving the scan results into the digital records and shut down the monitors.

“You can take her home, Sans,” The lizard spoke gently, looking at both of them with a sympathetic gaze. “I’ll analyze the information we have and give you a report. But I think it’s very clear that not only Frisk’s mental health, but her _physical_ health will be in danger as well if this continues on any longer.”

“I’m almost done with the extractor,” Sans told her whilst rubbing Frisk’s back comfortingly to ease her cries. “Just need to run some tests to make sure it’s working properly and we can move on with the separation.”

Alphys gave a small nod before looking down at her feet with an indescribable sadness on her face.

“I’m…so sorry this has happened to you, Frisk.”

The brunette only sobbed louder.

* * *

Sans and Frisk left Alphys’ lab when the latter had calmed down somewhat, and the former had been fully prepared to walk his human home safely when she suddenly asked him for an impromptu date. He stared at her confusedly, and a little bit concerned as to why she would suggest something so suddenly, but the desperation he saw in her sad yet beautiful sapphire hues made his SOUL clenched and he agreed without question.

Frisk wanted to forget the fear about her current situation and seek comfort and reassurance in her boyfriend, even just for a while. She knew it was stupid and probably selfish, but what she saw and the dreadful foreshadowing that came with it was too much for her to handle emotionally. She just wanted a moment of peace. Pretend as though nothing was wrong, and she was happy with Sans by her side, living normally and carefreely on the surface.

_~~She wished.~~ _

“Where do you wanna go?” Sans asked. He was fine with anything as long as he could make her smile at the end of the day.

“…Muffet’s bakery?” She looked up at him timidly.

“Sure, anything you want.”

He went to hold her in his arms as he teleported them both to the town square, where the renowned establishment lied. It was bustling with customers, and the spider monster in question was serving behind the counter full of delicious treats and drinks enthusiastically. All of her eyes twinkled in glee at the sight of her two favorite patrons.

“Sans, Frisk, what a pleasant surprise to see you here, it’s been such a long time since you both have payed my bakery a visit,” Muffet eyed their intertwined hands with mirth. “And I can see some very delightful changes since then, fufu~”

“Hi, Muffet, it’s nice to see you again,” Frisk greeted her with a sweet smile. “I hope you’ve been doing well.”

“Oh, I’ve been doing just marvelous, fufu~! It’s always a pleasure to see humans and monsters alike enjoying my pastries. Speaking of which, what can I get you today?”

Frisk chose to try out some flavorous looking spider cupcakes with different colored cream toppings, and Sans opted for some classic spider donuts. Muffet told them that they were free to sit down at any table and she’d bring them their orders right away. Only once they’ve settled down and their treats were brought to them did Frisk finally felt somewhat at ease as she started to munch on her cupcakes. The taste was so delicious that she couldn’t help but hum in delight.

“It’s so tasty,” She commented before taking another bite.

Sans propped his elbow on the table and rested his skull on his hand, watching Frisk with a fond gaze. He had always loved that lovely expression on her face when she really enjoyed something, she just looked so carefree and light-hearted that made his SOUL purred affectionately. He let out a light chuckle as some of the whipping cream got stuck on her nose.

“You’re so cute,” Sans watched amusedly as a soft blush spread across her cheeks at his smooth compliment. “I’m so lucky to have you with me.”

“R-really?” Frisk hung her head shyly.

His smile curved into a shit-eating grin as he reached over and wiped her nose with one phalange.

“Yeah, it’s a _cream_ come true.”

“Sans, that was terrible!”

“Oh come one _sweetheart_ , don’t go _baking_ my heart.”

“Stop!” She whined with embarrassment, but couldn’t contain a happy giggle at her monster’s jokes. “You don’t even have a real heart!”

* * *

After that, they decided to take a little stroll around the park, just quietly enjoying each other’s presence hand in hand and savor the moment before walking down the street towards Frisk’s home an hour later. Frisk’s comfort slowly diminished as she felt several curious looks directed towards them, a very few of them judgmental, but the owners chose to remain silent as inter-species relationships weren’t really that uncommon anymore. She was beginning to realize if this was a bad idea and they should just teleport immediately to her home, but a reassuring squeeze from Sans’ hand eased her anxiety and she chose to just ignore the stares.

 _Maybe they’re just surprised to see the monster ambassador in public with a lover, that’s all,_ Frisk thought to herself.

“Monster fucker,” A man spat hatefully under his breath as he passed by them.

Frisk froze momentarily, but not because of the person’s rudeness. She would have shaken it off and move on.

No, it was because of Sans’ abrupt halt in his steps, his entire body tensing and his magic cracking in dangerous statics in the air, making her hair stand on end. A dark look shadowed his mandible as the skeleton quickly turned around, his left eye flashing menacingly.

If only looks could kill.

“ **Care to repeat that, buddy?** ” He spoke in a low, threatening tone. Sans usually couldn’t care less if someone had thrown an insult at him, but when it came to Frisk, there was no way in _hell_ he would let _anyone_ get away with it. He’d blast them into smithereens.

The offender turned to face them both with a cocky expression, as though daring them to contradict him. Sans began to quietly shake in anger, whilst Frisk nervously tugged at his hoodie sleeve, begging him to calm down.

“Sans, let’s just go, please,” She disliked confrontations, more less seeing the people she cared about getting hurt because of her.

“You heard me, skeleton,” The man slightly leant forward in a challenging pose. “That wench over there, she’s just a dirty little monster fucker and a pitiful attention seeker. And you, you’re just a freak who should be going back under that mountain with the rest of your filthy kind.”

Frisk stood eerily still.

Did…

Did that bastard just…

**S l a n d e r e d m o n s t e r s ?**

Something inside of her _snapped._

Sans was about to lunge at the impudent asshole when all of sudden, Frisk ripped herself from his side and _pounced_ on the man with a vicious snarl. Her blue eyes shifted into a bloody crimson red as she used all of her weight to pin him down, savagely plunging her nails into his face, breaking the skin and drawing blood. A malicious feeling of victory and satisfaction coursed through her veins at the man’s terrified screams, but it was short-lived as she felt Sans’ bony arms forcefully pulling her away from her victim, restraining her against his chest. She thrashed and seethed until he teleported them both to the Dreemurrs’ front yard and turned her around, forcing eye contact.

“Frisk, this isn’t you, snap out of it!” He shouted with a hint of desperation. “Frisk, listen to my voice, don’t give in to that demon’s influence! You’re Frisk Dreemurr, you’re a good person and a pacifist, and you don’t want to hurt anyone!”

 _Come back to me, please,_ he pleaded internally.

To his utter relief, the brunette gradually stopped struggling as the red in her eyes faded away, replaced with the original sapphire blue that he adored so much. Tears began to run down her face in streams at the horrifying realization of her actions, and Sans hugged her tightly as she sobbed a string of apologies into his hoodie.

“It’s okay, I’m here, you’re all right, everything is going to be okay...” He shushed, planting gentle kisses on her head and continuing to comfort her until he heard the front door to the estate flew open, the hurried footsteps of two worried goat monsters rushing to their side.

* * *

Asgore had demanded an explanation as soon as Toriel had taken Frisk upstairs to her bedroom, and Sans vaguely retold him of the offensive human and Frisk’s outburst. The monster King sighed, expressing his concerns over her abnormal behavior when his wife reappeared at the stairs, telling Sans to go to her daughter’s side per Frisk’s personal request.

“I’m scared, Sans,” She confessed in a hoarse whisper. “Chara is so close to…to—”

“It won’t come to that,” The skeleton interrupted as he held her close. “I’m not going to let it happen. _I promise_.”

Frisk knew her boyfriend hated making promises, especially the ones he couldn’t keep, so to hear him say that immediately brought reassurance to her aching SOUL.

It was quite hard to convince Frisk’s protective parents to allow Sans to stay with her for the night after that, but they had reluctantly agreed for her sake and out of trust for their friend (only after Sans had to undergo a very stern lecture from Asgore).

* * *

When the time had come for Chara to be separated from her SOUL, Frisk felt a mixture of relief and anxiety at any possible outcome. She was lying strapped to an oblique table in front of the extractor Sans had constructed.

“Don’t worry, we’ve double and triple-checked everything to make sure this works,” Alphys said as she injected Frisk with some raw DETERMINATION, just in case. “If something happens, we’ll shut it down right away, all right?”

Frisk swallowed nervously, but still managed a nod. Her eyes shifted to meet Sans’ gaze through the glass window that separated the room she was in and the control station. The latter smiled reassuringly, and she returned with a small one of her own. She trusted him. She trusted them both.

Everything would be all right, and soon she would be free from this nightmare.

“Are we good to go?” Sans asked as Alphys entered and walked up next to him.

“Yes, let’s begin.”

The two scientists began to activate the system, their attention focused on Frisk as the extractor roared to life, hovering closer to the human with its pointed mouth. They all held their breath as a white laser shot out to her chest and enveloped her in a glaringly bright light. At first, Frisk felt nothing in particular, just a very pleasant vibration on the surface of her skin. She could sense a particular tugging on her SOUL, and supposed it was the extractor sucking out the unwanted spirit hoarding inside.

Then suddenly, her entire body convulsed.

Frisk jerked violently against the straps that held her still, her mouth opened in a silent scream and her eyes stretching wide. It was excruciating, as though she was being torn apart at the seams and her SOUL throbbed and contracted painfully, threatening to break into pieces. Sans and Alphys both panicked as they scrambled to shut down the machine, but the system quickly escalated into a critical state and they recoiled as the control panels buzzed with burning electrical static waves. Soon enough, the entire room exploded just as Sans called out to his human in despair.

“FRISK!!!”

**_BOOM!!!_ **

The two monsters were blown back against the wall as the entire system collapsed; only shattered mechanical parts and a thick, suffocating smoke remained as residue. Frisk lied on the ground unconscious, but somehow still miraculously alive and breathing thanks to the extra DETERMINATION that Alphys had given her for this exact aftermath. Sans coughed a few times as he struggled to stand, he needed to see if she was okay, he needed to help her, his SOUL was buzzing in anguish at the sight of his lover so vulnerable and on the brink of death. However, once he had found the strength to walk towards the blown-up wall, he froze in shock at the figure standing above Frisk’s body with an all too familiar malicious smile, an intimidating aura oozing out of them in invisible waves.

“Finally… **I ’ m f r e e**.”


	6. Arc 1 - Ch.5: Be Careful What You Wish For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> y̸o̸u̸'v̸e̸ g̸o̸t̸ w̸h̸a̸t̸ y̸o̸u̸ w̸a̸n̸t̸e̸d̸, h̸a̸v̸e̸ y̸o̸u̸ n̸o̸t̸?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things will get real dark from here on. Be mindful of the tags.
> 
> You have been warned that this will not by a happy, fluffy story.
> 
> On a side note, Chara takes form as an adult in this story, because the DETERMINATION they continuously absorbed to survive aged alongside Frisk, and since Frisk is in her twenties, they take the the same age appearance.

_This can’t be happening,_ Sans thoughts raced anxiously in his mind. _The malfunction shouldn’t have even happened at all!_

He could hear the faint rustling of Alphys moving closer to the debris behind him and letting out a gasp of shock, but he was too busy staring at the embodiment of evil that was Chara to notice, fully materialized and grinning maniacally at him. The same grin that had haunted his own fair share of nightmares of that one timeline he wanted so badly to forget.

“ **Y o u ,** ” Sans seethed, clenching his fist tightly in cold anger.

“Missed me, comedian?” Chara was unfazed at his deep, menacing tone. If anything, it only amused them further as their blood red eyes crinkled with glee. “I’ve been waiting a _very_ long time for this moment. I feel stronger than ever, with Frisk’s DETERMINATION brimming within me, and it was all thanks to _you._ ”

Sans wanted nothing more than to blast this accursed demon brat out of existence, as he was so easily provoked by their obvious taunts. He took a step forward, his magic coursing through his entire body in statics and his left eye was ablaze with a blazing cyan flame, but a soft pained whimper coming from Frisk caught his attention as he stopped abruptly, whipping his skull in her direction.

“Impressive, I didn’t really think she would survive through that,” Chara eyed them with curiosity and their grin stretched far too wide. “No matter. I’ll just take her SOUL right now and put her out of her misery!”

“ **Don’t you _dare_ touch her!”**

All at once, several sharpened femurs were summoned and hurled at Chara before they could even come near the semi-unconscious human, however they quickly leapt out of the projectile and landed at a safe distance away from the very enraged skeleton monster. He stood protectively in front of Frisk, both arms raised in a defensive position as he continued to materialize bones from thin air, shooting them repeatedly at his enemy.

Alphys was momentarily speechless at the whole debacle, watching as Chara expertly dodged all of Sans’ attacks with ease, as though they had gone through this battle countless times, their loud and echoing heckle only seemed to fuel the latter’s fury. She was snapped out of her stupor when she realized that she had something more important to tend to than just stand still and do nothing, and she quickly rushed behind Sans and crouched down to examine Frisk, carefully lifting up her upper body and shaking her slightly.

“Frisk, Frisk, can you hear me?! Oh, this is not good…” The lizard bemoaned when she barely received a response.

“You can stop wasting your time, she won’t wake up anytime soon,” Chara said.

“ **What have you done to Frisk?** ” Sans snarled, his voice had gone so deep that it was nearly booming.

“I thought you were supposed to be smart, comedian. Surely you’ve already figured that one out by yourself,” They shrugged nonchalantly as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Over the past ten years, I’ve absorbed enough of Frisk’s DETERMINATION to be able to break free and take form. Your little attempt at playing the hero merely helped me escape faster.”

“ ** _You damn brat_ …So you’ve been planning for this to happen all along!**” He spat.

“Oh come on Sansy, you’ve managed to separate me from your darling Frisk in the end. _Isn’t this what you’ve wanted?_ ”

Chara smirked maliciously. That only added oil to the fire as Sans called out to his Gaster Blaster; a blaring cyan light appearing in its maw and then a powerful beam was shot directly at the demonic spirit. They didn’t even attempted to move, and for one short second, Sans actually believed that he finally got rid of the thorn in his side.

Until the smoke dissipated to reveal that they were still in one piece.

Sans involuntarily took a step back in disbelief as Alphys held Frisk closer in fear. Chara cackled.

“Tell me, Sans,” Their voice suddenly took an ominous turn as their entire body was surrounded in a red flaming aura, their eyes and mouth slowly dripping with black ooze, creating a horrifying sight. “ **Can you really kill the embodiment of DETERMINATION?** ”

As soon as they finished, a red knife was magically manifested into their left hand, purely made of DT magic. They lunged at the skeleton at an inhuman speed, the weapon held high and ready to strike. He barely dodged their swing as he teleported to the opposite side of the room, his eyesockets widened in shock. But they were quicker than he expected, as Chara abruptly changed direction and charged at him again, this time going for short, rapid thrusts, pushing him back as he continuously evaded their knife. This was nothing like the demon he was used to fighting back at the Judgement Hall. They were much faster than he remembered, and certainly much more merciless and unforgiving with their attacks.

“ **Doesn’t this bring back memories, comedian?** ” Chara swung violently, and Sans once again teleported back in front of Frisk and Alphys, sweating profusely. The sheer force they put into that hit was enough to left a large oblique dent in the wall, a demonstration of what could have been the skeleton’s fate if he hadn’t dodged in time. They slowly turned around, a taunting chuckle bubbling in their throat. “ **Only this time, you will never be able to kill me. You will quiver in fear and terror as I reduce you into nothing but dust once again!** ”

There was no way he could defeat Chara like this. He hadn’t been prepared for their return as he had thought. Moreover, Frisk was in a critical condition and he couldn’t risk her and Alphys getting caught up in the crossfire.

They had to escape, they had no other choice.

“Alphys, hold on tight to Frisk!” He shouted.

Risking the last drop of his energy, Sans turned and grabbed Alphys’ shoulders, just when Chara leapt at them with a predatory snarl. Their knife missed and plunged into the floor after a bright blue light blinded them, and the last thing Sans heard before falling into the Void was a spiteful roar.

* * *

After the whole fiasco, Frisk had to be hospitalized immediately. Toriel and Asgore was in a state of disbelief when Sans and Alphys had to explain everything to them, and the two goat monsters did not fail to let them know how disappointed they were for being left in the shadows. They were mostly horrified at the return of their second child who was now a mere soulless husk who was hell-bent on disposing of humanity.

“I…I just can’t believe this would happen,” Toriel sighed, holding her head with a perturbed expression as she stared at Frisk’s immobile figure on the hospital bed. “This…this seems like a nightmare.”

“On your irony…” Sans muttered.

“Forgive me, but I believe we both need some time to process this,” Asgore spoke with an equally troubled tone. “This is truly an unsettling situation. Our child has returned from the dead, furthermore, they are capable of such ill-intents and have brought pain to Frisk…and supposedly everyone else, as you have told us about the…genocidal timeline, as you called it.”

Sans frankly wished there was another way he could break the news to them, but he had to come out with the truth about everything that only he could remember; the RESETs, Frisk’s power, Chara’s influence…It was the only option he had in order to provide a solid cause that led to the current circumstances, as well as the reason why Chara was who they were and why they had planned meticulously for their freedom.

If only he hadn’t been so _stupid…_

“Um, I’m afraid we still have another problem that needs to be resolved right away,” Alphys said hesitantly. “Chara is on the loose, and we can’t let them roam around like that with their murderous intents.”

“I will contact the Chief of Police immediately and request their capture,” Asgore replied. “Hopefully the EPD would be quick enough to find them before anything dreadful happens…”

 _I highly doubt it_ , Sans thought bitterly.

* * *

When Frisk regained her consciousness, it had already been late in the night and she was slightly disoriented. She looked around and was surprised to find Sans sleeping soundly in a chair, his head rested in his folded arms on her hospital bed. A smile found its way on her face as she gently caressed the top of his skull, marveling at its warmth and smoothness. She had always thought his bones would be cold and hard, but then again, he was more of a monster than a literal skeleton.

Sans shifted a little before slowly opening his eyesocktes, blinking a few times to chase away the sleepiness.

“Ugh…Frisk?”

“Hey there, silly skelly,” She giggled softly.

“How are you feeling, babe?” He smiled back at her before taking her hand in his, planting a tender kiss in her palm.

“Like I could use some coffee right now.”

Sans snorted.

“Good to see you’re well enough for jokes,” His expression suddenly turned grim as his grip on her hand tightened. “I was really worried…I was scared that…that I failed somehow and…and that you might not wake up.”

“…How long was I out?”

“About a week, I think.”

Frisk’s breath hitched in her throat.

“Do you remember what happened?” He asked her with a cautious tone.

“Little bits here and there…” She momentarily closed her eyes, feeling light-headed. “I remember…being in Alphys’ lab...The extractor…”

_A blinding, excruciating pain…_

“Well…We tried to shut down the system when you suddenly convulsed, but it malfunctioned and basically blew up. The good news is, your SOUL is free now.”

“And…the bad news…?”

“…Chara materialized.”

“ _They’re alive?!_ ” Frisk raised her voice in shock.

“That’s not the worst part,” Sans tensed up in discomfort. “They have taken so much of your DETERMINATION that they’re practically invincible. They can use magic, and they’re running free in the streets.”

Frisk felt her entire world shattered at once, as her heart monitor began beeping faster, her muscles contracted and her breath quickened. The skeleton immediately noticed his lover’s state of panic and he tried to ease her anxiety as he stood up, gingerly reaching out to hold her face with both hands.

“Frisk, sweetheart, calm down,” He gently caressed her cheeks with his thumbs, making sure to keep eye contact and speak as softly as possible. “Listen to my voice. I need you to stay calm, and breathe with me. Okay? Slow and steady. In….out…in…out…”

The brunette desperately tried to follow his instructions as she mentally repeated his words in her head, inhaling and exhaling…inhaling and exhaling…She was fine, they were fine, he was here and nothing was going to happen…

“You’re doing great, honey,” Sans encouraged her. “Just like that, slow and steady. There you go. You’re safe, all right? I’m right here; I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

Soon enough, the panic attack faded away. He gave her a tender kiss on the forehead, and Frisk’s voice came out as a whisper as she stared at him with a frightened look.

“What are we going to do, Sans? What will happen now that Chara is out there?”

“I don’t know,” Sans admitted with defeat, his brow bone furrowed in distraught at the sight of his loved one so fearful. “But we can’t expect anything but the worst.”


	7. Arc 1 - Ch.6: Crisis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Slightly gory depictions in this chapter.
> 
> I hope you're ready to go in for one hell of a ride from this point on. Buckle up, kiddos.

“Evicted?!” Frisk exclaimed in shock.

The monster ambassador—well, _formerly_ monster ambassador now—was sitting in a conference room with the monster King next to her, facing seven other human authority figures, all of them gathered around for a meeting right after Frisk had been discharged from the hospital the day before. She had been called to the embassy under the pretense of an urgent announcement that needed her attention, and despite Sans’ and Toriel’s displeasure, she had went with Asgore with a knot in her stomach.

She hadn’t been anticipating an eviction order from the higher-ups out of everything.

“I’m sorry for this unfortunate news, Miss Dreemurr, however you must understand that this is to be expected after the scandalous incident you’ve caused against one of our citizens _in public_ ,” The chief administrative officer emphasized with a serious tone, his hard gaze almost petrifying her behind his clear glasses. “Combined with the fact that you have been absent from work for quite an amount of time, leaving the monsters confused and perturbed, the administration have come to the conclusion that you are no longer efficient for the role. We acknowledge all of your accomplishments up until now, but I’m afraid the time has come for you to abdicate your title for someone more… _competent._ ”

“I highly recommend you to reconsider, Mr. Harrison,” Asgore sternly defended his daughter. “Ambassador Dreemurr has her own reasons to have taken time off of work, very _personal_ reasons that would have affected her professionalism if she had chosen to stay. Regarding the public incident, I implore you to understand that things have escalated out of hand due to the fact that the victim had indecently provoked my daughter and her companion, as well as slandering the monsters’ name.”

“It’s true,” Frisk insisted desperately. “I can’t apologize enough for my actions, but I assure you that it will never happen again, and I will do whatever it takes to compensate the victim—”

“The administration’s decision is final, we fear that any justification you may have will not be able to change what has already been done,” Harrison interrupted. “Your eviction is effective immediately, and I suggest you to pack your things and leave the embassy before noon. Your former assistant Derrick Turner will be the one to take over your position as of today. I apologize, Miss Dreemurr, King Asgore, but we have to prioritize our people first, as well as your own. I’m sure you understand that.”

* * *

Frisk returned home that afternoon, depressed and tired of everything. She was now without a job, without a clear conscience, believing that she had somehow failed the people she wanted to fight for so badly. She locked herself in her bedroom, opting to sit at the open window and stare at seemingly nothing for hours on end, not coming out even when her mother had gone off work and tried to get her to eat, sleep, or anything at all.

Somewhere between her disarranged and deprecating thoughts, Frisk was reminded of the moment when Sans had tried to take a look at her SOUL to see if it had taken any damage during the commotion at the lab, and was horrified to discover that it was it in an irreparable and severe state. There were so many large cracks and the glow had dimmed considerably that it was a miracle her SOUL hadn’t been broken already; she barely escaped death by a hair’s breadth. If Alphys hadn’t given her extra DT, she surely wouldn’t have survived.

In all honesty, after everything that had happened, Frisk wished she could have died the first time she fell down the Underground.

Someone else could have done a much better job than her.

_~~Her real parents had never been wrong, in the end. Everyone would have been better off without a useless trash like her.~~ _

“How much longer are you planning to do this to yourself?” A familiar baritone voice spoke up from behind, thick with disapproval and concern.

The human sighed.

“Leave me alone, Sans. I don’t want to talk to anyone right now.”

“Yeah, no, I’m not about to let you deal with this on your own,” The monster refused, stepping closer to her and wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders. “Tori told me what happened. Don’t give those stuffy assholes any other thought. _We_ know how much you’ve done for all of us and you sure as hell don’t deserve this outcome.”

“It doesn’t matter, they’re still right,” Frisk swallowed the bile in her throat. “I’ve done something that can’t be reversed and I’ve neglected my responsibilities. This is the punishment I deserve.”

“Frisk—”

“Any news about Chara?” She interrupted him, not wanting to dwell on it any longer.

Sans opened his mouth, about to express his disagreement on this sudden change of subject, but then decided to drop it and shook his head regrettably as a response to her question.

“No. Undyne said the police have no clue on where they could be hiding. We gave them the best description as we could, but it’s been days and…”

“This is all my fault,” She stood up from the windowsill and stepped away from Sans, her fist clenching.

“If there’s anyone to blame for this, it’s me, not you,” He countered, raising his voice a little in frustration. “It was my mistake that led to Chara’s return. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

Frisk whipped her head around, glaring at her boyfriend with annoyance.

“Yes, _I have_ , Sans! I’m tired of being treated as some kind of good, pure and innocent person when in fact, I’m not! When will you get it through your thick skull that I’m a horrible human being and just let me take the blame _for once?!_ ”

“And then what?! Do you want to be treated like trash and _less than dirt?!_ For what purpose?! So you can play the victim and wallow in your own misery?!”

There was a deafening silence that followed as soon as Sans finished shouting, and it only took a millisecond for him to realize the actual weight of his words, and the unintentional reminder of Frisk’s unhappy childhood. He unconsciously gulped and bit his tongue as he slowly hung his head, unable to look at her in the eyes out of guilt.

“…I…I’m sorry, I-I didn’t mean…” He started.

“No, you’re not wrong,” She whispered in exasperation. “This whole charade does look like I’m playing the victim and wallowing in my own misery. I’m not…I’m not a good person.”

“Sweetheart—”

Anything he could have said to deny was interrupted when a very disturbed Toriel entered the room in haste, a frightful expression on her face.

“Frisk, Sans, you need to come see this.”

* * *

They were absolutely not prepared for this _atrocity_.

Several humans had been found dead in many alleys across the city, their bodies horribly _mutated_ as to render them unrecognizable, dark patches of blood were splattered on the walls and the ground in a gory display. The murders were being broadcast in breaking news on every channel, warning every citizen of a dangerous serial killer on the loose. The images were so graphic that they were partially blurred, and Frisk’s hand flew to cover her mouth as she retched dryly. Toriel remained speechless.

“This is bad, really, really bad,” Sans shuffled back and forth in distress. “I can’t emphasize how _bad_ this is.”

“ _You think?!_ ” Frisk choked, her eyes were wide with anxiety. “We need to do something before it gets any worse!”

“There is _nothing_ we can do!” He shouted. “That god damn brat is out there, killing people left and right, and they’re not even a _real_ human being that the authorities can just catch and put behind bars! I can’t even put a single hit on them! They’re made of pure DETERMINATION!”

“There has to be a way to subdue them! We can’t sit around and just watch them cause a mass manslaughter!”

“Both of you, stop this nonsense!” Toriel stepped in between them. “Shouting at each other will not change anything. We must stay calm and think this over reasonably.”

“There _isn’t_ anything to think about, Toriel,” Sans gritted his teeth. “Chara can’t be stopped. It’s over.”

“So then, you’re just going to give up?” The goat monster eyed him with a stern, scolding gaze. “You’re just going to leave the problem at that and not take responsibility for your actions?”

“I—”

“Your miscalculation led to this crisis, so you must be the one to prevent anymore undesirable outcomes,” She continued. “Chara maybe invincible, but they are not unstoppable. There is always a way to overcome a being that is made of magic, and that is with magic itself.”

Her words seemed to have enlightened Frisk and Sans, as the two began to calm down from their initial rush of anger and sheepishly stared at the ground. They had let their emotions override their reason, and the first thing they did was to lash out verbally at each other.

“The only thing I fear right now is that the anti-monster movement might turn this against us,” Toriel added with a sigh. “The only victims were humans, and they ought to think that the murderer is a monster.”

“If I hadn’t been evicted from the embassy, I could’ve said something to prevent that,” Frisk shrunk in on herself. “But I guess that’ll never happen now.”

* * *

The murders continued on, each one more brutal than the last. Chara’s pattern had become unpredictable; they would either wait for many days before striking another victim or do it for many days in a row, sometimes only one, sometimes many, each one more brutal than the last.

One particular Sunday afternoon, the whole gang gathered in the living room at the Dreemurr estate, anxiously following the news. There had been some rumors circling about the speech coming from the mayor regarding the manslaughter, the government officials having finally taken action when monsters were recently added to the kill count as well.

“They’re _toying_ with us,” The skeleton monster snarled as he glared daggers onto the television screen. “When I get my hands on that demon…”

“We’ve done everything, searching high and low, in every nook and cranny, but still nothing!” Undyne slammed the table in disgust. “How are we supposed to stop someone that can’t be found?!”

“THEY CAN’T BE THIS POWERFUL, BEING A SIMPLE SPIRIT,” Papyrus wrung his hands nervously. “THERE HAS TO BE AN EXPLANATION. SOMETHING THAT WE OVERLOOKED.”

Anything that could have been said were forgotten as the familiar intro of MTT news finally played on the screen, the most popular channel that was watched by millions across the country. Mettaton’s face appeared shortly after, his expression grim and serious, a very out of character appearance for the usual haughty robot.

“Welcome everyone to MTT Channel. For today’s news, Mayor Alexander Lewis of Ebott City has finally decided to hold a public speech regarding the current crisis of a mass homicide to which the killer has not yet been caught. Coming live from the Plaza Hotel in Central Square.”

The screen then shifted to the said mayor preparing to give speech, as thousands of people had gathered in front of the stage to witness the actions that would be taken to hopefully end this terror that had been brought upon them. However, before he could even utter a word, a large wave of red smoke suddenly appeared behind him out of thin air, before it materialized to reveal a very demonic-looking Chara; their limbs and face were covered in thick black tendrils that resembled veins, their scleroses a matching color whilst their crimson hues glinted sharply, their skin a horrendous grey and their light-brown hair flowing in disarray. Their grin stretched wide as they single-handedly sliced the middle-aged man’s throat before plunging their glowing red knife into his chest, pulling it out shortly along with his SOUL. All eyes were upon them as they openly _consumed_ the SOUL before it could break with one swallow, and their entire body blazed with a powerful aura before a hoard of traumatized screaming broke out in the audience.

Chara finally turned to look directly into the camera, and Frisk felt a cold chill running down her spine as she realized they were somehow looking directly at _her_.

“ **Frisk Dreemurr,** ” Their voice slithered like one of a snake, enough to petrify her with the sheer _malice_ behind it. “ **I won’t tell you who, I won’t tell you when. Surrender your SOUL to me, or every human and monster being in this world will _p e r i s h._** ”


	8. Arc 1 - Ch.7: You Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Howdy! 
> 
> It's been a long time, hasn't it?
> 
> I wish we could have reunited under better circumstances, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little hindsight into Chara's mind, from the perspective of their old sibling.
> 
> We're about six chapters away from the end of Arc 1! Whoopie!
> 
> Also, Dystopiantale is written in three arcs, so don't worry, it's gonna be a long story.

It was the first time Sans had come to his and Frisk’s special spot alone. He sat and pondered grimly, the stars seemingly hiding behind the clouds that were too dark to distinguish from the night sky. The circumstances had escalated much too quickly and now the entire city was under a total confinement, constantly living under the fear and the possibility that they could be brutally murdered at any given moment. They were not dealing with just any serial killer, they were dealing with an actual _supernatural_ being that could materialize and disappear without a trace at will, wielding powerful magic and always, _always_ in search of a new victim in the most unpredictable pattern that was impossible to keep up with. The authorities had deployed several monster defensive forces to counter magic with magic; however the chances of them ever succeeding were alarmingly low as the kill count continued to increase as time passed by.

And then there was the matter of Frisk.

The young woman had been under an immediate "house arrest" under the will of her monster parents after Chara had openly declared their threat against her on television. The King and Queen had always been protective of her, but now it was on a whole new level as Asgore had even stationed countless guards and agents from the Royal Protection Services around the estate and Toriel wouldn’t let her daughter go anywhere further than five feet from home. Frisk had literally become a caged bird at this point, but she didn’t dare to utter any complaints and obediently follow her parent’s wishes to stay safe at all times in silence. The only person she was allowed to have as company were her closest friends, and by that extent, her boyfriend Sans.

He briefly wondered if it was just Frisk being understanding and patient as usual, or it was just because she was too resigned that she just automatically obey anything that was demanded of her, like a soulless robot.

“Where the hell did I go wrong,” The skeleton scolded himself. “If I hadn’t been such an idiot…”

_~~Maybe he was a failure after all. A failed son, a failed brother, and a failed lover.~~ _

“You’re right, I actually expected more from you,” A small, shrill and _eerily familiar_ voice startled him, followed by a small noise of something—or _someone_ —popping out of the soil ground. “I’ve always thought that you were the smart one out of all of them.”

No.

Stars no.

_Not **him.**_

“What? Not gonna greet an old pal?” The owner of the voice spoke again, this time with a hint of amusement.

“I don’t have anything to say to you,” Sans slowly turned around, glaring at the offending yellow buttercup with his flashing blue eye. “ _Weed._ ”

“Aw, you’re hurting my feelings, smiley trashbag,” The flower stuck his little tongue out, unfazed by the menacing tension in the air.

“You don’t _have_ feelings.”

“Touché.”

If there was one person whom Sans despised with every fiber of his being more than Chara, it was Flowey.

Another soulless husk that had possessed the power to control time before Frisk first fell down to the Underground, one that had RESET so many times that Sans’ notebook was filled with hundreds of pages scribbled with events that had happened in each and every timeline Flowey had created. The wicked flower was always desperate to try something new, after having seen and done absolutely everything, a similar morbid curiosity that the eighth human had also been a victim to. The only difference was that his _less-than-ideal_ iterations had been much, much more merciless and cruel than _that one_ of Frisk’s.

The damn garden weed that was the culprit for Sans’ innumerable nightmares was there, right in front of him, on the surface. Frisk had told him before of who Flowey really was, especially his past connection to the first fallen child.

Which could only mean one thing.

“If you’re here to help that fucking _spawn of the devil_ , then maybe I should just blast you into the Void right now, where you _fucking belong,_ ” He seethed, moving to stand up in an offensive stance, his magic buzzing in statics and ready to strike.

“Calm down, smiley, sheesh,” Flowey deadpanned. Although there was no doubt that he knew just what Sans was capable of, he did not seem to cower. “You sure have a short temper for someone who’s usually so laid-back. I’m not here to FIGHT.”

“Yeah? Tell that to the devil when you’ll be burning in hell,” The skeleton snarled.

“ _I’m serious,_ Sans. I didn’t come here to be your enemy.”

He knew he shouldn’t be listening to this weed. This creature had caused him so much pain and agony, watching helplessly from the sides as it manipulated Papyrus time and time again, only to dust him seconds later without remorse. Sometimes it had even tried to get to Sans first, and once he had dropped his guard, he didn’t live long enough to see what it had in store next for his brother.

But there was something in Flowey’s tone and the way his name was pronounced that actually halted the rise in his magic, half way through summoning a blaster. Sans maintained a cold, warning glare at the flower, but he slowly relaxed into a normal stance, albeit cautiously. Flowey took this as a sign that he was at least making an effort to listen to what he had to say, and he kept a serious expression as he provided an explanation to his reappearance.

“I’m sure Frisk had told you the truth about me and why I chose to stay underground,” He began. “So I’ll cut directly to the chase. I felt Chara’s presence down there a few months ago, and so I resurfaced to observe you until their return. They’re nothing like they’ve ever been, and I can sense a great danger coming that would no doubt shake the whole world.”

“No shit.”

“Which is why I’ve decided to come to you, not as an enemy, but as an ally,” Flowey pointedly ignored the off-handed comment. “I’m going to help you.”

“Really?” Sans raised a skeptical brow bone. “And why should I trust someone like _you?_ ”

The buttercup frowned with frustration.

“Look, do you want to protect Frisk? Do you want to SAVE her from the hell that _you’ve_ caused by your idiotic mistake?” His tone became accusing, and the skeleton actually felt repulsed at being admonished by _this_ weed of all people. “No one knows Chara better than I do. You _don’t_ have a choice.”

He didn’t want to, he _really_ didn’t want to, but Sans didn’t see any hidden lies or any manipulative intent behind Flowey’s words (that, or maybe the damn plant was just _that_ good at concealing it), so he reluctantly muttered an agreement, still giving him a cut-eye for good measure.

And it wasn’t like Flowey was entirely wrong either. Sans did want to SAVE Frisk, by any means possible, especially now that they all knew that demon was actively out for her.

“I still hate you.”

“Likewise, smiley trashbag.”

* * *

It went without saying that Frisk was more than delighted to have her friend back.

“It’s so nice to see you again, Asriel,” She greeted him happily when Sans had brought Flowey to her in a pot the next day (after a series of childish bickering and shouting; the buttercup was not pleased at all to be confined to a pot).

“Don’t call me that, please,” He recoiled slightly. “Just…just Flowey, okay?”

“Oh, all right, if that’s what you want,” She replied sheepishly before looking at him with an utmost apologetic gaze. “…I’m sorry.”

“For what?” He asked confusedly.

“For leaving you down there, all alone. I wanted to go get you, I really did, but…I remember how adamant you were about staying behind and…”

“Frisk, forget about that,” He interrupted with a small wave of his leaf. “It’s fine. Don’t dwell on the past. Besides…we’re friends, right? I don’t resent you for anything.” He added with a low tone, keeping a straight face but his little glance towards her showed a little hopefulness for recognition.

“Of course we are,” The brunette smiled warmly.

To say that Sans was utterly surprised at this interaction was an understatement. In all of his memories, he had not once seen Flowey so openly kind towards anyone. The weed had always been snarky, sarcastic and evil. He had seen first-hand what kind of abomination Flowey could turn into. And yet, there he was, talking with Frisk in such a friendly tone and even _genuinely_ smiling.

It didn’t mean he was ready to trust the flower just yet, but maybe he could give him the benefit of the doubt. If Frisk put her faith in where his loyalty lied, then he could be a little bit more tolerant.

Didn’t mean he had to like the weed, though.

Sans felt a rush of affection as he was reminded of how wonderful and amazing his human was; her kindness and altruism could even change someone into a good person, and that just made him fall in love with her even more. Without much thought, he stepped closer to her and held her tightly from behind, marveling at how perfectly she fit in his arms.

“Sans?” Frisk shyly looked up at him, but did not move away from the warmth of his embrace.

“What?” Sans grinned with a cheeky wink. “Am I not allowed to hug my sweetheart?”

“Sans, oh my God,” She whined with embarrassment, her face redder than Papyrus’ scarf.

Flowey cringed.

“Can you kindly stop pretending that I’m not here?”

Sans blatantly ignored him, as he continued to hug the blushing brunette. Frisk could swore she saw some kind of lightning flashing in the air as the two of them glared at each other, and she mentally sighed before apologizing to Flowey and addressed the elephant in the room.

“So, if you’ve come to us to offer your help, than can you tell us why Chara is acting this way?” She slightly shivered at the mention of the dreadful name, and felt her lover’s arms tighten around her in comfort. “Why do they still want my SOUL even though they’re no longer bound to me?”

“There’s probably not much about their hate for humanity that I can say more about to you, but I certainly can tell you what I believe most likely to be their motive. They want to wipe out both humans and monsters and then use your SOUL to ERASE this world forever,” Flowey spoke in a grave tone.

He then proceeded to explain how Chara had an incredibly dark past before falling down the Underground, presumably to end their own life, just like Frisk had once tried to, and inevitably survived to discover the banished monster kind. He told them how they had already been corrupted with so much hate that it eventually turned into a terrifying thirst for LOVE, and it would justify their reasons for acting how they were now; they had become delusional in their own perception of MERCY, thinking that no more suffering would exist if the world was destroyed.

“I suppose that in their mind, they believe that the end justifies the means,” The flower dropped a little, his gold petals obscuring his expression. “Even at the cost of happiness.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all thought Flowey be joining forces with Chara, huh?
> 
> It would've been much worse if that were true though, just a thought. ;D


	9. Arc 1 - Ch.8: A Hidden Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth that had never been told by the legends. 
> 
> If only they had discovered it much sooner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I originally wanted to draw a comic, but my skills aren't quite there yet. T~T Just gonna settle for my first big work as a written one, heh. *internally crying*

Frisk hadn’t experienced true hopelessness since a long, long time.

When she had decided to leave everything behind to seek freedom from pain and suffering all those years ago, it wasn’t quite the same feeling as that. She felt powerless and agony, sure, but there had been a spark of DETERMINATION that pushed her to climb Mt. Ebott, escaping the hell that she had once been a prisoner to.

The first time she had known how it actually felt to be hopeless was when she had to face the abomination that was Omega Flowey. He had managed to transform into a literal beast that would have been completely unstoppable had the human SOULS he absorbed not revolted against him to help Frisk defeat him.

The second time was when she had been trapped inside a body that had no longer belonged to her. Frisk had let herself succumbed to that tiny shred of resentment that had grown into an uncontrollable thirst for LOVE, allowing another being to take control and finish what she had started. She had been unable to break free and stop her own madness.

(She wondered if perhaps that was what Chara had gone through, eventually letting that intense hatred consume them whole and made them into what they were now.)

Sometimes, that twisted part in the corner of her mind still reminded her that her actions had been justified, that she had tried to be merciful, but they’d still want her dead, they’d still kill her for the sake of their own freedom.

_~~She had only been a child. It wasn’t fair. They deserved it (did they really?).~~ _

Frisk never allowed herself to linger on those dark thoughts. (But maybe Chara did the opposite, which was why they were doing this).

The third time was when she had fought against Asriel in his hyper death form without the ability to even move. But even then, the brunette had stayed determined and her SOUL had remained strong as she called out to her friends and SAVED them, as well as the young Prince himself. After achieving the perfect happy ending ~~(that may have turned out to be the exact opposite, how _ironic_ ),~~ Frisk had believed that she wouldn’t have to experience the dreadful feeling of losing HOPE ever again.

_Until now._

“I can’t believe this,” She said breathlessly, holding a hand to her forehead. “So they’re just going to kill everyone in the end, regardless if they get my SOUL or not. This...I can’t let this happen!”

On a whim, Frisk detached herself from her lover’s arms and attempted to leave her room with adrenaline pumping in her veins, ignoring the frantic calls of both Sans and Flowey. The human was half way through the door when a skeletal hand suddenly grabbed on to her forearm, slightly yanking her back.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Sans raised his voice in anger, although there was certainly fear somewhere along his words and in the way his eyelights shrunk considerably.

“The only thing I can do!” Frisk shouted back, equally angry and perhaps even anxious. “If I go out there, Chara will surely come to me and I can convince them to stop!”

“Are you _insane?!_ What makes you think you’ll be able to change their mind?! You’ll just be throwing away your life!” He hated yelling at her, but he could see the impulsiveness behind her eyes and it was just something he could not allow to happen.

“I don’t care! I’ll do _whatever_ it takes to SAVE everyone!” She resisted. “There has to be a way. I did the impossible before. I can still do it again!”

“Don’t be reckless! You’re always like this, risking your own well-being for the sake of others! I won’t let you do this!”

“Why can’t you just let me go?!”

“ _Because I love you!_ ”

Silence.

Frisk’s mouth was hung open slightly, her blue eyes widened in bafflement. She froze on the spot and continued to stare at Sans, whilst the latter immediately realized what he just said and felt his anger dissipating, replaced with astonishment.

It was the first time he had ever said it out loud, even after they had started dating. In the beginning, their relationship was still fresh and they were slowly working the ways to shift from best friends to lovers, neither of them ever mustered the courage to be the first one to say those faithful words. Now though, it seemed that the circumstances somehow had the slightest bit of influence in their bond, unconsciously strengthening it, as Sans had become desperate to protect Frisk through this hell that was brought upon them.

“ _I love you,_ ” He repeated in a whisper, like a sacred promise. His hand loosened a little on her forearm, but he didn’t let go, as if he was afraid she would disappear forever if he did. “So please…don’t do it.”

“Sans…”

“I _can’t_ lose you,” He added with a shaky breath. “ _Please._ ”

Frisk was beyond emotionally touched, as she finally stepped back inside and wrapped her arms around his cervical spine in a hug, tears prickling the corner of her eyes. Sans immediately embraced her tightly, burying his skull in the crook of her shoulder.

“I…I love you too, and I’m sorry for being impulsive,” She spoke softly. “I didn’t know what I was thinking…You’re right, there’s nothing I can do to change Chara. But I can’t stand by and do nothing.”

“I’m not saying you _have to,_ ” His voice was muffled, but she could still hear the desperation behind it. “Just don’t throw away your life so carelessly. We’ll find a way through this, _together._ ”

The brunette hummed gently, holding onto her boyfriend a little tighter. She was grateful to have him as an emotional rock, helping her through the darkest times.

“If you’re done being all sappy and mushy, we should start discussing to _actually_ figure out a solution, instead of just saying it,” Flowey interrupted the moment with a huff.

The couple moved away from each other, Sans shooting the annoying weed a small glare, but bit back a snarky comment that was just at the tip of his tongue. He knew Frisk wouldn’t like him arguing with her friend, so he would restrain himself, for now.

“Okay…So, what do you think the first course of action should be?” Frisk asked.

“Well, first of all we should find out exactly how Chara is gaining so much power,” The flower replied. “It shouldn’t be normal, as far as dead spirits go.”

“Well, they absorbed most of my DETERMINATION when they were bound to my SOUL…They can manifest that into magic.”

“But that shouldn’t be enough to make them as powerful as they are now,” The skeleton said, bringing his hand to his chin in a contemplative stance. “Which means…they must’ve been harnessing their magic through other means. The amount of LOVE they’ve gained since the murders started gives them immense strength, but it can’t be a magical support.”

Frisk bit her lower lip in cogitation, before letting out a gasp.

“Wait! That time when Chara appeared on television…they consumed the mayor’s SOUL after killing him off,” She tried to suppress a slight nausea at the reminder of the gruesome memory. “Could that be it?”

“We can’t know for sure, but it’s a very high possibility,” Flowey agreed with the hypothesis, but he was still a bit unsure.

“I might know one person who can enlighten us on that kind of thing.”

Frisk and Flowey eyed the skeleton with surprise.

“You do?” They asked in unison.

Sans nodded firmly.

* * *

If there was one person who knew the answer to every impossible question, it was the veteran Gerson.

The turtle monster had lived for as long as Asgore and Toriel had, maybe even more, and the two boss monsters had lived for over a thousand years. The one that was named the Hammer of Justice in his prime, and Undyne’s childhood idol. He had seen everything, fought in every battle, even survived through the realities of the war between humans and monsters. He had a knack to hide the true extent of his knowledge with a casual and lively exterior, but there was no doubt that he was the wisest monster the Underground had ever known.

With this thought in mind, Sans teleported Frisk and Flowey to Gerson’s cottage at the outskirts of the city, the human clutching the flower pot tightly in her right arm. The veteran had retired from his shop keeping job and decided to live a calm, secluded life on his own in the woods. He walked up to the wooden door and knocked on the door two times.

“Knock knock.”

Some shuffling could be heard from inside.

“Who’s there?”

“Doris,” Sans’s mouth quickly stretched into a small grin, as Flowey groaned in exasperation and Frisk lightly giggling at her boyfriend’s antic.

A slight pause, then…

“…Doris who?”

“Doris locked, that’s why I knocked.”

They all heard a familiar “wah-hah-hah!” before the lock was turned and the door swung open to reveal a very amused old Gerson.

“Good to see ya still have yer sense of humor in these times, sonny,” He greeted them warmly before inviting the three of them in, sitting them down at the round wooden table in the middle of the room. Frisk noticed the way he scanned the area outside his home with scrutiny before closing the door, making sure it was securely locked again. “It’s been a while since I’ve had any visitors. I’ll brew some sea tea for everyone.”

“Thank you Gerson, and we’re very sorry for the sudden visit,” The human smiled apologetically, placing Flowey on the table.

“Wahah! Don’t gimme such a guilty look, kiddo! You lot are welcome here anytime!” Gerson said enthusiastically as he filled a kettle with water then set it on the stove. “Besides, a little birdie told me y’all looking for something important that only I can provide, ain’t that right?”

“Well, yeah, we’re trying to come up with a plan to stop Chara, but we can’t plan our first action without knowing exactly how did that demon become so insanely powerful,” Sans replied, scratching the back of his skull. “We were hoping you might know something about that.”

The old veteran hummed, but said nothing more as he waited for the water to boil. Frisk and Sans shifted somewhat uncomfortably in their seats, whilst the potted buttercup stared a hole into Gerson’s shell impatiently. A minute later, the kettle began to screech loudly, and Gerson turned off the stove and nonchalantly poured them into three cups, the tea bags have already been put inside. He then placed two of them on the table, one for Sans, one for Frisk. He held the third one for himself, looking at Flowey with an amused glint in his eyes.

“I have a feeling ya would prefer some fresh water from the watering can instead, unless ya really want to try some?”

“Oh, _har har,_ very funny old man,” The flower deadpanned. “Now can you please answer our question?”

“Hold yer leaves, will ya?” Gerson sat down, casually sipping his tea. “This ain’t a matter that should be rushed. First of all, how much do you lot know about the true nature of human SOULS?”

“Nothing that everyone hasn’t already known,” Frisk spoke up. “We know that the traits of human SOULS are actually different types of magic that humans have lost the ability to wield centuries after the war, and that the red SOUL of DETERMINATION is the strongest one of all.”

“We also know that only monsters can absorb human SOULS to become more powerful,” Sans continued. “But a human can’t absorb a monster’s SOUL, or one of another human. That’s what the legends say, anyways.”

Gerson sipped his tea again.

“Precisely. A human can’t absorb another human’s SOUL. But they certainly can _consume_ it.”

The atmosphere shifted abruptly as the turtle monster’s expression turned grim, his voice an ominous tone.

“Chara is but a mere spirit, but they had been human before their death. Therefore, the rules apply the same to them; they devour their victims’ SOULS like a true demon would, and thus obtaining the magic that the SOUL possessed. Once a human consumes another human’s SOUL, they will gain _unfathomable_ _power._ ”

This was a truth that no one had been prepared to discover.


	10. Arc 1 - Ch.9: Lost Souls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rise of a new threat.
> 
> As if they haven't already had enough problems to deal with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're not ready for this chapter. I bet you didn't see this coming. 
> 
> You'll know what I mean.
> 
> Side note: If some of you are wondering why some of the characters are not getting enough screen time, I'll remind you that this story is very Frisk & Sans-centric (please read the tags again). Also, as stated in one of the previous chapters, Frisk's SOUL is very weak and close to breaking, so she's very unstable when she goes in shock or panic.

“They can’t be invincible, right?” Flowey said with a hint of desperation. “They have to have a weakness. What if we have a monster absorb a human SOUL and then FIGHT against Chara?”

“Hate to bust yer bubbles, but it ain’t that simple,” Gerson shook his head. “It’s true that a monster can become very powerful with a human SOUL, but at this point, that ain’t enough to take down Chara. The only way ya can do that is—”

**_THUMP!_ **

Before he could finish, a loud noise banged on the door. Frisk let out a startled gasp before covering her mouth, whilst Flowey and Sans jolted slightly and held their breaths. Gerson glanced at the direction of the noise, his posture stiff and cautious.

**_THUMP! THUMP!_ **

The atmosphere was thick with tension. Nobody dared to make a move or utter a word. And then—

**_THUMP! THUMP! CRACK!_ **

The wooden door was violently broken down, as three or four mutated humanoid corpses crawled through the entrance, a hollow hole carved on their chest and a deadly red aura emitting from their bodies. Frisk screamed in terror, standing up from her seat and grabbing on to Flowey’s pot reflexively, as Sans immediately rushed to shield her with his body, a cyan flame ignited in his left eyesocket. Gerson maintained a stoic expression as he stood up as well, steadily backing up with the other three as the enemy roared and cried, a few of them that were on their feet began shuffling towards their prey.

“ _What are those things?!_ ” Flowey shrieked in panic.

“Lost Souls. Humans whose SOULS have been taken from ‘em and unable to seek a peaceful rest in death,” The old turtle replied. He quickly opened a drawer and dug inside to pull out what seemed to be a regular hammer at first, but soon rid itself of its camouflage and morphed into a large, metal spiked mallet. “It’s been a very long time since I’ve last seen one. I’ve figured that they’d appear soon enough, what with Chara’s ongoing manslaughter and all.”

Gerson took some experimental swings, before getting into a battle stance and charged at the Lost Souls. He single-handedly finished off three of them, slamming their heads aggressively with each powerful attack.

“If ya want to kill these things, yer gonna aim for the head, ‘else they’ll just keep comin’ back!” He shouted with vigor, taking down yet another one.

“Oh God, there’s more of them!” Frisk cowered behind her boyfriend’s back as a few more Lost Souls appeared, before she heard banging noises from behind. She sharply turned around, using her free hand to clutch at the back of his hoodie in terror. “ _Sans!_ ”

The skeleton snapped his head at the direction of the window, spotting other undead corpses that were trying to come through. With an expert aim, he brought up his hand and hurled several sharpened bones at them, piercing them clean in the head and breaking the glass in process. His eyesockets widened in shock as more of them were walking and crawling towards the opening from a few feet away.

“There’s too many of them!” Sans called out to Gerson.

“Get Frisk outta here! The strong presence of her SOUL is triggerin’ their ravenous thirst and lurin’ them in!” The veteran swung his mallet at one of the Lost Souls that had managed to scratch him viciously, a shallow wound bleeding on his forearm. He slowly stepped backwards, stopping in front of Sans in a defensive position. “I’ll take care of ‘em!”

“Are you insane?! You can’t FIGHT them on your own!” Flowey protested.

“I’m offended that ya think I can’t handle ‘em, petals,” Gerson grinned. “This ol’ turtle hasn’t lost his battle spirit yet! If ya don’t want those creatures to eat yer friend’s SOUL out, then ya have to escape, preferably right now!”

Sans hesitated a little as he watched the veteran charged forward, bashing more of the moving carcasses’ heads. He wanted nothing more than to get Frisk to safety; however he didn’t want to leave his old friend behind in such a dangerous battle. Gerson might have been one the strongest monster warriors, however his age had obviously caught up to him as the strength in his attacks gradually weaken, his stamina was not once how it had been.

A lot of people didn’t know, but aside from Grillby, Gerson had been another reliable friend that he had confided his secrets to when they were still down in the Underground, the latter providing him with wise advice and uplifting encouragements. He had been like a mentor to Sans.

“ _ **GO!**_ ” The turtle monster shouted, grunting as he wrestled with a Lost Soul that had grabbed on to the handle of his mallet.

Sans wasted no more time as he quickly turned around, wrapping his arms securely around Frisk’s petite figure, the human clutching Flowey’s pot tightly so that he wouldn’t fall into the Void during the teleportation.

They were out of the havoc in less than a second.

* * *

As soon as their feet touched ground back at the Dreemurr estate, Frisk abruptly fell to her knees, her breathing rapid and shallow, unconsciously dropping Flowey onto the floor.

“Frisk!” Sans crouched down immediately, grabbing onto his lover’s shoulders.

“Her SOUL must be reacting to the danger, the pressure is too much for her to handle,” The yellow buttercup spoke anxiously.

As if on cue, Toriel suddenly appeared through the hallway that led to the kitchen, no doubt having heard the commotion in the living room. She gasped in distress as she rushed to their side, gently taking hold of her daughter’s frame.

“ _Mommy…_ ” Frisk cried out shakily, as though she had returned to being a small, frightened little girl.

“Oh _stars_ , my child, whatever has happened for you to be in this state of shock?” The goat monster furrowed her brows in concern, rubbing a hand up and down her back in a soothing motion. She then eyed Sans and Flowey questioningly. “Would someone _please_ give me a reasonable explanation?”

“Um, well, you see…” The former began nervously, scratching the back of his skull. “We, ah, might have been caught in a pretty _shocking_ situation…”

Toriel’s eyes narrowed with a warning, unamused. He coughed into his hand, mentally berating his out-of-place humor.

“We went to Gerson’s place, and we were attacked by Lost Souls,” The flower spoke up before Sans could unintentionally frustrate her any further.

All of the color drained from Toriel’s face almost instantly.

“Oh dear, that is…that is quite the unfortunate predicament,” Her expression changed into a grim one. “I can hardly believe that it has come to this…It seems like we now have more than just Chara to worry about.”

“I have to go back there, I can’t let Gerson FIGHT them off by himself,” Sans declared.

She pursed her lips into a thin line, seemingly unsure of his decision. However, she only let out a small sigh when she noticed the determined look in his eyelights.

“If you are so resolute, then I supposed I cannot stop you. But please be careful, my friend. Lost Souls are much more persistent, durable and dangerous than you think. Do not let them get too close to you; they won’t feed on a monster’s SOUL, but they _will_ kill you with it.”

Sans nodded firmly before giving Frisk a reassuring smile when the brunette had turned her head slightly to glance at him, no doubt fearing for his safety. And just like that, he disappeared in a blue flash.

“Are you feeling any better now, my child?” Toriel asked softly.

“A little…” She answered in a small voice. It wasn’t easy to shake off the mentally scarring feeling caused by the horrendous sight of dozens of walking human corpses. But it was already enough that she was back at home with Flowey and her mother.

A sudden unease washed over her as her thoughts halted.

“Wait, where’s dad?” She looked around for the male monster worriedly.

“Your father is meeting with the colonel of the army right now, most likely on the subject of recruiting more monsters into the force,” Toriel said, her brows creased together disquietly. “Although, I’d much prefer he return home as soon as possible now that the Lost Souls are roaming the streets…Why don’t you rest in your room and I will give him a call right away.”

“Okay…I hope he’s all right…”

* * *

“Gerson!” Sans called out as he reappeared in the old monster’s cottage, before letting out a shocked cry at the state he was in. “ _Holy shit!_ ”

Gerson was almost _dusting_ , there were several injuries scattered across his body and he was barely standing still, leaning heavily on his mallet whilst the remaining Lost Souls circled around him menacingly. It was almost as though they were sentient; enraged that their thirst could not be quenched as their only prey had escaped, thus they aimed to kill the only living being in the room.

Sans did not wait for them to move, he immediately summoned dozens of femurs and shot the carcasses in the head, even calling out his special attack to blast them for good measure. To his relief, they were all gone in an instant; however it was short-lived as he witnessed Gerson coughing up dust violently. His mallet dropped with a loud “ _thud!_ ” as he fell to the floor in exhaustion, Sans barely made it across the fallen bodies of the living dead to catch him.

“Hang in there, old man, I’m gonna bring you to Tori, she’s very good at healing magic, she’ll patch you up, you’ll be fine—”

“Sans…” Gerson interrupted him, bringing up a hand to grip tightly at Sans’ hoodie sleeve. “Ya… _ya have to—_ ” He coughed again.

“Save your breath, you’re going to make it worse!” Sans pleaded. “I’m going to get you help!”

“No…It’s…it’s too late for an ol’ turtle like me,” His breathless laugh was weak, sending a wave of intense denial coursing through Sans’ non-existent veins. “I’ve already…contributed all I can…for monster kind. I will leave…without regrets…”

“ _Gerson…_ ”

Half of his body had already reduced to dust, as the veteran struggled to speak up the words that Sans needed to hear.

“To defeat…Chara…ya need to…” Gerson sucked in a painful breath. “Ya need to… _look beyond the surface…_ It’s the only way…”

“What? I don’t understand!” His eyelights had completely fizzled out by now, and he could feel bright cyan tears pouring from his eyesockets.

“I know ya will…one day…Yer a strong-willed…and a smart monster, sonny,” Gerson smiled warmly. “ _You’ll be…a great hero…_ ”

With those last words, the Hammer of Justice faded away, leaving behind nothing but grey dust and a broken friend.


	11. Arc 1 - Ch.10: Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> d̸o̸ y̸o̸u̸ b̸e̸l̸i̸e̸v̸e̸ i̸n̸ p̸r̸e̸m̸o̸n̸i̸t̸i̸o̸n̸?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Just a little announcement that updates will probably get slow for the next few days (^_^)' With all of this corona virus b.s and the confinement, there's been a lot of concerns from me and my friends whether or not our school would be open after April 19th. There is an anticipation that we will stay confined until May 15th, everyone's pretty stressed, a lot if going on right now and I still have homework that needs to be done, so yeah. 
> 
> I am not putting off the updates for weeks long, I promise, it's just a transition from daily to like, once every two or three days. As always, thank you for reading my very first big work and remember to stay safe everyone! Love you! <3

After Gerson had fallen down, the skeleton monster had grieved him for hours until he decided that he should give his friend a proper interment. It was the least he could do to honor his sacrifice.

Sans started by gingerly picking up a small amount of Gerson’s grey dust, squinting his eyesockets shut painfully as he did, and spread it over the large, spiked mallet that had been the veteran’s treasured weapon. He also scattered a little bit more on all of the books that he knew his old friend loved to read and Gerson’s favored sea tea box that sat on a counter next to the stove.

He then proceeded to remove the decaying bodies of the Lost Souls from the cottage, throwing them carelessly outside the broken door in resentment and disgust, at first. However, he stood still for a second and let out a tired sigh when he thought about the fact that they hadn’t chosen to become such monstrosities, their lives had been wrongly taken from them by a true abomination, thus becoming restless and unable to move on. San figured that perhaps they also deserve a place to rest after meeting such a terrible fate at the hands of Chara.

He searched around for a shovel and dug up the ground at several places before placing the corpses inside, burying them and finally giving each one of them a makeshift cross tomb with some of the broken wood that he had found in the cottage amongst the debris.

Sans looked around for anything that could be replaced as an urn to hold Gerson’s dust, but gave up when he found nothing appropriate enough and resorted to calling Undyne for help.

He hated being the bringer of bad news, but everyone was bound to find out sooner or later, and maybe the first person that should hear it was the fish monster. After all, Gerson had been her biggest idol and role model.

There was no doubt that Undyne had been struck emotionally deep, as she showed up to the cottage with an urn about half an hour later with the most devastating expression on her face Sans had ever seen her wear.

Soon after, the news travelled quickly among the monsters and eventually to the royal family. Gerson’s funeral had been sorrowful and grim as they had decided to bid their once glorious fighter at the foot of Mt. Ebott. A beautiful black marble tombstone had been created as his memorial, with the symbol of a hammer along with Gerson’s name, alias and the words “A warrior, a mentor, and a friend”.

“He will always live on within our memories and our SOULS. May he rest in peace,” Asgore solemnly stated.

Frisk began to weep softly halfway through her father’s words, and her hand flew to her face as Sans’ wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. Papyrus was wiping his bright orange tears and sniffing quietly, whereas Mettaton was comforting a sobbing Aplhys. Toriel hung her head silently, holding Flowey’s pot in her paws. The yellow buttercup had never resented his lack of emotions up until now, he wanted to grieve with them but he just couldn’t feel anything, so he at least tried to look somewhat mournful. Undyne stood along with the other former members of the disbanded Royal Guard, wearing her old armor with Gerson’s mallet strapped to her back. They stood at attention to pay their honors to the fallen veteran, their expressions neutral but respectful as they acknowledged his past accomplishments for the good of monster kind.

Because of the new threat, however, the funeral hadn’t lasted very long, and everyone had been quick to return to the safety of their homes, especially Frisk, considering that the Lost Souls were more likely to be attracted by the presence of human SOULS. The Dreemurrs had put up a protective magical barrier around the estate to keep them out, just in case, but it certainly did not ease their fear as the situation had become so unpredictable. Asgore was even having a possible speculation that Chara could eventually learn to use the Lost Souls to their advantage.

Needless to say, none of them had a peaceful sleep that night.

* * *

_Sans sighed contently, shifting into a more comfortable position as he leant against a big tree. Frisk was sitting across his lap and resting her head on his clavicle with her eyes closed, a gentle and delighted smile on her face. The sky was blazing blue and the sun was a celebration of yellow, free and bright, and there were flowers of a variety of colors scattered everywhere, adding a finishing touch to the heavenly canvas. Everything was tranquil, just like how it should be._

_“Sans?”_

_“Yeah?”_

_“Do you love me?” Frisk asked softly._

_The monster looked down at his human with surprise and confusion._

_“Of course I do, baby. Why would you ever ask me that? You know I love you with all of my SOUL,” He claimed passionately as he picked up her hand and planted a small kiss on the back of it._

_“If that’s true…” Her tone suddenly turned painful. “ **Then how could you have let this happen?** ”_

_Sans froze rigidly in horror as the scene before him shifted drastically; the trees and the meadows were suddenly replaced with golden walls and towering windows. He was kneeling on the marbled floor that was stained with pools of crimson blood, the blood that belonged to Frisk. He was holding her, clutching her mangled body to his ribcage, the bones that were his magic protruding from her chest and her blood dying his clothes a dreadful red as well. Sans’ breath quickened rapidly as his eyelights extinguished, staring down at the resentful and agonized expression of his lover._

_“ **How could you have done this to me?** ” She cried, accusative and betrayed. _

_“F-Frisk…!”_

_“ **You promised you would protect me…** ”_

_“Sweetheart, no, please—!”_

_“ **You said you love me with all of your SOUL…** ” Her body was slowly losing its warmth. “ **Why would you kill me…?** ”_

_“I-I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I didn’t want to, I—!”_

_Her hands shot out abruptly, grabbing both sides of his face and pulled him closer as more blood began to pour from her eyes and mouth in a horrifying display, her voice echoing in several octaves._

_“ **Y o u d i d t h i s t o m e . . .! T H I S I S A L L Y O U R F A U L T !** ”_

_As soon as she finished shouting, the human choked violently on her blood and her entire body immediately went limp afterwards._

_Sans’ mouth was hung open silently for a short moment, before letting out a terrifying bloodcurdling scream._

* * *

Frisk tossed and turned on her bed, desperately searching for that sweet release of sleep that seemed to never come. She sighed, tired and frustrated, turning again to face the other side and was about to close her eyes to try and find that sleepiness when she saw a familiar blue light reflecting off of the wall that could only belong to Sans. Not one second later, she felt her mattress shifting due to a second weight and two bony arms wrapped around her abdomen tightly, pulling her flush against him.

“Sans?” She called out in confusion.

“’m sorry…for intruding…Just…” She felt him shudder slightly as he buried his skull deeper in her hair. “Let me…hold you for a while…Then I’ll leave…if you want me to…”

Frisk furrowed her brows in concern. She had never heard him so…weak and scared, before. A worried gasp escaped her lips when she felt something wetting the top of her head.

“Sans, a-are you crying? Are you okay?” She tried to turn around to see his face, but he was holding her so tightly that it was impossible.

The lack of response only made her more worried.

“Sans, I want to look at you,” She pleaded. “Please?”

He didn’t say anything, but gradually loosened his arms to let her face him. Frisk frowned sadly as she brought up her hands to wipe the hot cyan tears that ran down his cheekbones, an aching feeling rushing to her chest at the sight of him so vulnerable.

“My poor silly skelly,” The brunette cooed softly, equally pained as how he felt. “What happened?”

“…Nightmare. A really…bad one,” He replied in a whisper.

Frisk didn’t need to hear more. She moved closer to him and hugged him as tight as she could. She placed one hand above his skull and began caressing him in a soothing motion, all the while comforting him with a gentle voice.

“It’s all right, it’s over now, and everything is fine. I’m here for you,” She pressed her lips to his in a chaste kiss. “I’ll always be here with you. I love you.”

“…I love you too.”

For the next few minutes, Frisk continued to ease her boyfriend’s distress with sweet words and kisses until he calmed down from his shock and his tears dried. An unspoken agreement was made as Frisk made no attempt to deny his presence and so Sans stayed where he was, holding her close in his arms. He kept telling himself that everything was okay, that she was alive, and she was right there with him.

_~~How long would she be?~~ _ ~~~~

“…Frisk?”

“Yes?”

“You can’t…” He breathed in and exhaled shakily. “…Promise me…that you’ll always be here with me.”

She bit her lip in uncertainty. There was no telling what could happen in the future, and she didn’t want to make a promise that she couldn’t keep, especially for his sake. But she loved him more than anything, and she couldn’t bear to deny him the one thing that would put his mind and SOUL at ease.

“I…I promise.”

_~~I’m sorry.~~ _


	12. Arc 1 - Ch.11: Alea iacta est

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The die has been cast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooh, things are getting really dramatic in here! Can you feel that adrenaline?! 
> 
> Only two more chapters until Arc 2...
> 
> Hold on to your seats, kiddos!

It didn’t take very long for the entire city to fall into a complete apocalypse.

Chara’s innumerable murders never ceased to increase, and soon enough it wasn’t just them who was attacking the people of Ebott anymore. In every nook and cranny, around every corner and hidden in every alley, there were always a hoard of resentful and restless walking humanoid corpses crawling around, hunting for victims to bring upon others the same fate that they had endured. They broke into any house that were unfortunately not secured enough and rip out the SOULS of their prey. If it was human, they would feed on it to quench their ravenous thirst (and thus more Lost Souls were made). If it was monster, they would simply crush it into dust.

This posed a very serious problem as the magic within the human SOULS eventually became twisted once consumed by these monstrosities, giving them the same amount of power just like how Chara had gained theirs. Because they were once human, the rules were exactly the same, only in this case, they weren’t conscious enough to wield magic, but it certainly did give them an advantage against magical defenses.

Which was why Frisk had been in a total state of panic when she saw through the window how the barrier around the Dreemurr estate was breached, as several Lost Souls hungrily swarmed in with vigor and vehement. They must’ve had broken through by continuously banging and slamming themselves against the magical shield, and it ultimately gave way with a large cracked opening at the base. The amount of magic supply from the SOULS of their victims that added as a strength support made them a very deadly threat indeed.

“Mom! Dad!” Frisk hurriedly ran down the stairs, clutching Flowey’s pot in her right arm. “The Lost Souls! They broke through!”

The two goat monsters immediately sprang into action. It was as though they had been anticipating this outcome since the beginning. Asgore had donned his golden armor that he hadn’t worn in years, and Toriel was wearing her old purple robe with the deltarune symbol in front.

“Toriel, you know the plan. Go with Frisk and Flowey through the back and reach the skeleton brothers’ place as soon as you can, then contact Undyne immediately,” the King said as he grabbed hold of his red trident. “Once the defense forces arrive, evacuate everybody to the base of Mt. Ebott.”

The female monster nodded firmly, but Frisk was not so sure she agreed with leaving her father behind.

“But dad, you can’t FIGHT them alone!” She did not want a repeat of what happened with Gerson just a few days ago.

“I won’t, there are members of the Royal Protection Services, and we’ll only be buying you time to escape,” He placed a paw on her shoulders, his expression a mixture of sternness and fatherly. “Your safety is our first priority, my child. You are a human, thus the Lost Souls’ prime prey. I will be joining you shortly, do not fret.”

Frisk fought back the tears that prickled the corner of her eyes, and gave Asgore a quick but tightest hug she could manage, to which he gladly returned. Even Flowey looked distressed as well; Asgore was still very much his father even though he wasn’t Asriel anymore, and so he silently wished to the stars above that he would come out of this unscathed. Toriel simply gave him a tender kiss, her voice steady but a slightest hint of fear and worry could still be heard.

“Please be careful, dear.”

“I will. I still have a family and my people to protect, so I won’t die just yet,” He smiled reassuringly.

* * *

Toriel quickly led Frisk through the back door, as the wails of the bloodthirsty carcasses reached their front yard. Unfortunately, as they made their way outside, there were other Lost Souls that were stumbling towards them from another cracked opening. Flowey began shooting them in the head with his pellets, simultaneously backed up by Toriel’s attacks—viciously setting each one of them on fire. Whilst the Lost Souls were howling in pain, they took the opportunity to run past them as fast as possible, heading towards the direction of Sans and Papyrus’ house.

“Just keep going, my child, and don’t look back!” Toriel shouted, stopping shortly from time to time to attack the other Lost Souls roaming the streets that had sensed Frisk’s SOUL and were following them.

The human panted heavily, trying as best as she could to continue running, but each time that another walking corpse entered her vision, a paralyzing fear threatened to consume her as she let out a noise somewhere between screaming and crying. The only thing that grounded her was the sound of her mother’s fire magic crackling and sizzling loudly and her flower friend’s encouragements.

“We’re almost there, you can do it Frisk, don’t stop!” Flowey raised his voice as to make his words heard through the loud roars and cries of the Lost Souls, and to his utter relief, the familiar look of DETERMINATION shone on her face as she sprinted across the road, finally reaching the destination and fortunately with her mother right behind her.

Frisk banged hastily on the door.

“Sans, Papyrus! It’s me, Frisk! I’m with mom and Flowey, please let us in!” She pleaded, whipping her head around to search for the enemy. Her eyes widened fearfully as four of them began to approach. “The Lost Souls are chasing us, hurry!”

Not one second later, Papyrus threw open the door.

“GET IN, QUICKLY!”

He closed it as soon as they entered, locking it securely before stepping aside as a heavy armchair surrounded by Sans’ magic floated over. The latter placed it directly against the entrance, an additional counter should the door be broken down. Papyrus immediately went around the house to block off any other possible entry, and Frisk cried out in relief as she (unintentionally) dropped Flowey’s pot (“Hey, watch it!”) and threw herself into Sans’ arms.

“How did this happen?” He asked with a tense frown on his face.

“They managed to break through our shield,” Toriel explained as she pulled out her phone and began to message an alert to Undyne’s number. “Luckily, Asgore and I had a plan prepared. He would stay behind and give us time to escape to reach your house and then contact Undyne. She, her force and Alphys have been building an underground fortification on the other side of Mt. Ebott to evacuate everyone there should the situation get out of hand.”

“WHAT? AND YOU’RE ONLY TELLING US THIS NOW?” Papyrus exclaimed as soon as he returned to their side, having overheard the second part of the goat monster’s explanation. “WHY HAVEN’T YOU EVACUATED EVERYBODY THERE SOONER?!”

“Building a fortified shelter is, by no means, easy and the construction requires a very specific amount of time and resources, Papyrus,” She replied patiently. “And if we have diffused the information beforehand, there is no guarantee that it wouldn’t have traveled to Chara’s ears. We had only intended to reveal this when it is finished, or in this case, in an emergency.”

“Well, now that we’re here, what’s the next step in your plan?” Flowey spoke up from the ground.

Toriel took a moment to scan the area outside through the windows before answering.

“I’m going to meet up with Asgore and help any surviving citizen to evacuate. Go to our shelter at Mt. Ebott. Alphys is sure to be waiting for you.”

“But, mom, Sans can’t teleport where he’s never been to,” Frisk glanced at her boyfriend nervously.

“It’s fine, I can just port us to the base of the mountain, and we can find it from there,” He shrugged.

“WELL THEN, WE SHOULD PROBABLY GET GOING RIGHT AWAY—”

But Papyrus never got to finish his sentence, because just then, an extremely violent earthquake caught all of them off guard and they didn’t have enough time to react as the ceiling started to collapse on top of them. Sans hunched over as his grip on Frisk tightened significantly, using his body to protect her as the bricks and cement blocks fell from above, all the while mentally using his gravitational magic to prevent anything too heavy from crushing them both. Papyrus had fortunately been quick to grab Flowey and Toriel just a second before the house crumbled entirely, conjuring up several towering bones as a shield.

Afterwards, the ground beneath their feet fissured and gave way to large, sharp and deadly obsidian spikes that shot upwards in a successive motion. Sans’ left eye was ignited in a cyan flame as he quickly leapt away from their trajectory, Frisk letting out a frightened yelp as he did. Papyrus and Toriel rapidly moved to a safer distance as well, however one of the spikes managed to graze the former’s arm and piercing through Flowey’s pot, causing him to fall unceremoniously to the ground with a scream.

“Papyrus!” Sans shouted. “Are you all right?!”

“NYEH,” The younger skeleton winced as he held his injured arm. A large scar was left behind on his ulna, leaking marrow. “I’M FINE, BROTHER, IT’S ONLY A SCRATCH. I’M MORE WORRIED ABOUT FLOWEY! ARE YOU UNHARMED, MY FRIEND?”

“Ugh…I’ve had better days,” The buttercup grunted, lifting himself up as his roots planted themselves under the soil. “At least I’m not confined to that damned pot anymore.”

Frisk could feel herself starting to hyperventilate a little out of shock, her SOUL thumping wildly in her chest. If Sans hadn’t been holding onto her so firmly, she was sure that she couldn’t even stand on her feet and she would’ve no doubt met a painful death.

“Wh…what on Earth…just…happened?!” She was gasping for breath now, her body trembling in fear.

Before anyone could even utter a word, they all turned their heads towards Toriel who had emitted a loud, terrified gasp. She was staring wide-eyed at the city in front of them…or, rather, what _used_ to be the city.

A cold, sinking feeling of dread filled them all at once as they witnessed the atrocious and devastating state that Ebott had fallen into; all of the buildings and establishments have collapsed and fallen apart into ruins, having been destroyed by the petrifying magnitude of the earthquake. The smell of blood and dust was thick in air as a handful of people had been pierced through mercilessly by the obsidian spikes that were protruding from the earth. The dark grey sky added such a harrowing finishing touch to it all, as a single silhouette appeared amongst the catastrophe, surrounded by the ghastly presence of the Lost Souls.

“ **Time’s up, Frisk. Now watch in fear as I raze everything you have ever loved to the ground!”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger!!! (Or not really...? Lmao)
> 
> Please feel free to leave a comment, don't be shy! It really motivates me when you do and I love hearing your thoughts and opinions! <3


	13. Arc 1 - Ch.12: The Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> b̸e̸h̸o̸l̸d̸, t̸h̸e̸ p̸o̸w̸e̸r̸ o̸f̸ t̸h̸e̸ m̸e̸g̸a̸l̸o̸m̸a̸n̸i̸a̸c̸.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *epic Megalo Strike Back intensifies*

Frisk’s entire body went rigid at the sight of the demon that stood before them in the middle of the terrifying show of power that they had displayed, their limbs completely covered in a frightening color of black and their elongated fingers curved into beast-like claws. Their eyes no longer bore pupils; instead they were just glaring crimson red scleroses with a paralyzing glint of menace. Their skin had become a very dark grey with small black tendrils stretching from the corners of their eyes to their mouth. A large grin was plastered on their face as they flashed their sharp, hostile fangs, and the fact that they have grown quite a considerable height made them even more demonic and malevolent.

“ **I’m pleasantly surprised to see that you’ve managed to survive until now, Frisk,** ” Chara’s voice was a mash of several octaves and even had a ghastly tone slithering between their words like such of a ghost. “ **But sadly, your efforts have only sealed your fate; you’re going to meet a much more painful death by my hands, and then your SOUL will be mine!** ”

“Over my dust pile,” Sans seethed with a hateful glare. He then tried to teleport Frisk out of there, however he quickly faltered as nothing happened. “Wh-What the hell?”

Chara cackled.

“ **You didn’t really think I’d let you escape that easily, d i d n ’ t y o u ?** ”

As soon as they finished, a humming red barrier revealed itself around the entire fallen city, the dome having been made invisible to the eye beforehand. All of them cowered in shock as they realized they were inevitably trapped, and worst of all, there was a possible chance that Undyne couldn’t have entered the city in time with her force because there was no telling how long has this barrier been there. They could not get reinforcements from the outside.

“Chara, please, it doesn’t have to be this way!” Flowey pleaded, desperately searching for the glimpse of the best friend, the sibling that he once knew. “Everything you’re doing is so horribly wrong and you know it! This is not the solution!”

“ **Silence, _you traitor!_** ” Chara cried out in rage as their arm shot out and stretched to violently grab Flowey by the stem, ripping him off of the ground and bringing him closer to their face. “ **You don’t have a say in what I do is right or wrong, Asriel. You’ve failed to listen to me all those years ago, so this is merely the consequence of _your_ incompetence!**”

They proceeded to carelessly throw him into the distance against a broken wall, before summoning a row of glowing red knives and sent them flying towards him, striking him all at once. Just then, Toriel charged forward and begin shooting fireballs at them, however Chara managed to dodge out of the way and even deflecting one back at her with a long red blade that took shape in their hand.

“ **Pathetic. If you’re going to make this even harder for you, then I will indulge in your eagerness to FIGHT,** ” The demon glowered. “ **Allow me to show you a very special trick that I’ve learned.** ”

They raised their arms as a dreadful aura surrounded their body, their grin stretching horrifyingly wide. At that moment, the same aura encircled all of the Lost Souls in the area and even beyond, and their eyes began to glow the same color as Chara’s, instantly turning around to charge at the monsters and the human. Papyrus and Toriel sprang into action and fought of the walking corpses while Sans swiftly pushed Frisk behind his back and summoned his Gaster Blaster to counter Chara as they rapidly dashed towards them with the speed of lightning. They expertly dodged the beam that shot out of the blaster’s maw as they effortlessly swung their blade and broke the animal skull in half with incredible force.

Frisk and Sans were forced to separate as they dodged Chara’s sword in opposite directions. Without hesitation, the latter went for the defenseless one as they attempted to strike Frisk with multiple swings, however fortunately she hasn’t lost all of her evading skills gained from her time in the Underground. She didn’t have to wait long before Sans appeared right in front of her to block the blade with a large bone, the two mortal enemies immediately locked in a struggling position.

“Frisk, take cover, quick!” He grunted out, his right eyesocket closing due to the strength he had to put in to push the demon back.

“But—” She began to protest.

“ **You fool, do you really think you can hide from me?!** ” Chara sneered as they lifted their blade and slashed Sans’ bone before kicking him aside, charging for Frisk once more.

This triggered the human’s fight-or-flight response as they began to run past the howling Lost Souls and leaping over the fallen bricks and debris. She could feel obsidian spikes chasing her as they shot up from the new fissures on the ground, and her SOUL thumped wildly in her chest as she briefly turned around, her eyes widening as death had seemingly caught up to her.

“ **DIE!** ”

Just then—

**_SWOOSH!_ **

Frisk fell to the ground and reflexively raising her arms up defensively as a large figure suddenly appeared, breaking down the spike that should have ended her with one clean powerful swing. A loud gasp escaped her mouth as she recognized the long red trident.

“Dad!” She called out in relief, tears gathering at the corner of her eyes at the familiar sight of her father, alive and still fighting.

He wasn’t unscathed per say; there were a lot of scratches on his armor, tears on his purple cape, a bleeding scar on his muzzle and his right horn was broken, but he was still alive.

“I apologize for the delay, my child,” Asgore glanced back at Frisk with a confident smile. “But now that I am here, I shall not allow any harm to be brought to you.”

A warm smile found its way on her lips, but it quickly disappeared as she quickly alerted him of the incoming danger.

“Dad, look out!”

Asgore rapidly turned around and deflected Chara’s blade that narrowly grazed his head. The demon hissed as he plunged his trident into the ground and summoned trails of scorching fire that chased them as they leapt backwards. They resorted to flying up to avoid touching the earth as Sans had managed to regain his strength in time to teleport beside Frisk as soon as he could stand, hurling several bones at the demon continuously alongside Asgore who summoned fire wheels. Chara was caught off guard as something large pounced on them as they were dodging the attacks, and they soon realized that a huge, cupcake-spider beast was growling intimidatingly above them, bearing its fangs and ready to devour its prey.

“Oh dear, you’ll have to excuse my pet’s enthusiasm, it’s really fond of the taste of despicable demons, fufu~” Muffet announced her presence with a malign giggle, her spider friends gathering behind her as she stepped forward to stand next to Asgore.

Chara snarled at the sight of the new disturbance, even noticing from afar how Mettaton and Grilby had joined them as they assisted Papyrus and Toriel in disposing of the Lost Souls that were in their control. With an enraged cry, they summoned the spikes to mercilessly impale Muffet’s pet from every angle as they quickly evaporated into thick red smoke, only to reappear above and raised their arm as a very large number of blades materialized in thin air, covering the entire sky and leaving no loophole.

“ **I’m tired of this charade! _None of you will be allowed to stand in my way!_** ” They roared with spite, their ghastly voice booming terrifyingly.

They promptly brought their hand down, and all of the blades struck at once.

Chara’s attack was unforgiving and ruthless, as they did not intend to leave anyone unharmed. The monsters had little to no time to react, and Sans had only managed to grab Frisk and teleport under a tall building that had only fallen halfway through (by some miracle) and leaning against another construction. He saw it as a perfect roof to shield them from the falling swords. Papyrus had somehow managed to construct a towering wall of bones to protect himself along with Mettaton who had been right next to him whilst Asgore had deflected the attack around him and Muffet by swinging his trident in a circle. Toriel and Grillby had rushed inside a nearby ruined house, but were still a tad too late as they were still struck by some of the blades. The monster Queen had begun to use her powers to heal the flame monster when the others rushed to their side.

“OH NO, YOU’RE BOTH DEEPLY HURT!” Papyrus exclaimed worriedly.

“I am fine, Grillby had taken more damage than me,” Toriel furrowed her brows, concentrating harder on her healing magic. “I am a boss monster; my endurance is stronger than of an average monster. Are Frisk and Sans unharmed?”

“I saw Sans teleporting them both somewhere before the attack, most likely to take cover,” Muffet replied.

“Wait, where’s Chara?!” Mettaton snapped his head up, scanning the area with a frantic gaze.

Not one second later, the said demon appeared right above the building that Sans and Frisk had been hiding under and with a merciless swing of their blade, the structure was slashed in half and they immediately ran out, barely evading the heavy falling bricks. Sans called out to his blasters, relentlessly trying to take the upper hand against Chara, however he proved to be no match for them as they maneuvered through the animal skulls and delivered a powerful kick to his ribcage, sending him flying backwards and rolling on the ground. He tried to sit up as they approached him slowly and menacingly, their sword ready for the final strike.

“ **You know, comedian, you have always been my favorite,** ” Their voice was eerily calm as they stared down at the now weakened skeleton monster, still advancing at a steady pace. “ **You’re the only one who defies the laws of time and retains past memories throughout the timelines. You’re always aware of everything. You hide such an immense power behind such a casual exterior.** ”

Sans tried to call out to his magic, but it was incredibly drained and refused to come to the surface.

“ **I really have to thank you for your…DETERMINATION to release me from Frisk’s SOUL, because without you, it might have taken me even longer to fulfill my plan,** ” They were only three feet from him now, as he weakly tried to crawl back to put more distance between them. “ **But sadly, I don’t want to play games with you anymore, comedian. I’ll at least make it quick for you.** ”

Chara grinned for a split second, before rearing their arm back and sharply thrust the blade forward. Sans closed his eyesockets and waited for the inevitable pain—

…that never came.

“ **What…?! How did you…?!** ”

He opened his eyesockets again—

Only to see Frisk standing before him, the tip of Chara’s red glowing sword protruding through her back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like the scum of the Earth...


	14. Arc 1 - Ch.13: The Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 🕈☟☜☠ ✌☹☹ ☟⚐🏱☜ ✋💧 ☹⚐💧❄ ✌☠👎 💣⚐☠💧❄☜☼💧 👍☼✡
> 
> 🕈☟☜☠ ❄☟☜ ✌☠☝☜☹ ☹⚐💧☜💧 ☟☜☼ 🕈✋☠☝💧 ❄⚐ ☞☹✡
> 
> 👌☜🕈✌☼☜ ⚐☞ ❄☟☜ 👌☜✌💧❄ 🕈✋❄☟ ❄☟☜ ☞☹✌💧☟✋☠☝ ☜✡☜📬

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Sorry for the long waited update, I've been caught up on a few things! (^_^)' 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: Depictions of child abuse and suicide attempt in this chapter. If you're not comfortable with it, please feel free to move on pass the horizontal line. It was physically hard for me to write that part, as it's an absolutely touchy and vulnerable subject and I do not feel comfortable writing this at all. I was a victim of child beating and self-harm myself, even though it wasn't close, I still know how it feels to be in a dark place.
> 
> Please know that if you're having a bad time, don't bottle up those feelings to yourself and reach out to your loved ones. You can reach out to me as well, I'm an empathetic person and I really want to give all of my support to anyone who's in a dark place! <3
> 
> Remember, you're never alone. Take care of yourself, because someone really cares about you.

_I have always been…broken._

_I didn’t have a happy family. We weren’t really well-off and on top of that, my father was a violent alcoholic. Every day he would come home late into the night wasted, slurring and spitting unpleasant words and insults at my depressed mother who tried so hard to keep a roof over our heads. Sometimes he would even lash out physically at her, and eventually, she started to take out her anger on me._

_My mother would never fail to remind me it was because of my birth into this world that has ruined everything. That I was the reason that this family was falling apart, just because things were already hard enough for my parents and now they had another mouth to feed. My father would usually degrade me and hit me as well, when she’s nowhere in his sight, so I naturally became the “stand-in” victim. I lived my days cowering in a tiny bedroom, wondering each day if I would have to endure my mother’s wrath or my father’s beating._

_I didn’t have any friends, either. No support and no comfort. They all thought that I was that weird kid who had a lot of issues. I was barely three years into elementary before my parents forced me to stay home because they couldn’t afford to send me to school anymore. The abuse became worse when I turned twelve. My father left the house after a rough night of violent arguments with my mother and never came back. She broke down in hysterics, and I accidentally revealed my presence. She turned her rage and grief on me and started hitting me with any object she could reach._

_I was shocked, hurt and I couldn’t do anything; it was the real first time she ever laid her hands on me. Once she finished venting, she just drank herself to sleep._

_On that same night, I finally made the decision that I simply wouldn’t stand to suffer like this anymore. I had absolutely no faith left in anything at that point, and I could only think of one way to put myself out of my misery._

_There was a legend. A story. Anyone who dares to climb Mt. Ebott would never return. The city has a history of six children who mysteriously disappeared over the course of the years, all of them having hiked up the infamous mountain by themselves to never come back home. There was…something that kept them from doing so. Supernatural entities, as some very older citizens would often say._

_And since I had intended to leave this world for good, it was the most fitting parting place for me._

_I climbed Mt. Ebott, feeling a surge of a strong feeling that I have never felt before. Something…that kept me **determined**._

_What I never expected however, was to survive my jump down a large hole and discover a whole new world, with a whole new civilization._

_Up until now, I have never regretted my decision. Because it was the one thing that had led me into becoming a savior to the monsters who have been wronged for centuries. For the first time in my life, I felt needed._

_Worthy._

_Loved._

_The only thing that I did regret, was the way my bad choices had led to irreparable consequences. I could never apologize enough to my friends and family, and most especially…to Sans. He has always been the one who was most affected by the timelines, and I hurt him greatly on the genocidal iteration. I’d thought I had redeemed myself when I had achieved the true happy ending, and I’d promised myself that I would never hurt him ever again. He means a lot more to me than anyone could ever imagine. He is everything to me._

_That is why I can’t let him die._

_Even at the cost of his trauma, I **cannot let him die**. _

_I **must** ensure that Sans survives, because I know that he’s the only one who is capable of defeating Chara and bring everything back to how it used to be._

_I just hope that one day…he’ll be able to forgive me for leaving him behind._

* * *

“F… **F r i s k ?** ” Sans uttered in disbelief, his empty eyesockets wide opened in shock. Every fiber in his being screamed at him to move, to do _anything_ instead of just sitting there like an absolute _idiot_ as his lover’s life was withering away right before him.

Chara didn’t seem to anticipate this outcome, judging by the fact that they were staring at Frisk with the same astonishment. She still managed a small smile of resign as she coughed up blood, her hands grabbing onto the demon’s sword.

“I won’t…let you…hurt…him….” She spoke in a hoarse tone, wincing painfully.

Suddenly, as the others caught up to them, an agonized scream tore through the air as Toriel fell to her knees, her paws coming up to grab her own teary face as she realized the morbid fate her daughter had met.

_~~Once again, she couldn’t protect her child. She could never protect any of them.~~ _

Papyrus and Mettaton both held devastated expressions on their face whilst Muffet covered her mouth in shock, and Grillby hung his head mournfully.

Asgore was shaking with grief and _blinding rage._

“How **_dare_** you!!!” The King roared, his voice booming loudly.. “You **_demon!!!_** ”

That seemed to snap Chara out of their stupor, as they quickly pulled out their blade that had impaled Frisk’s chest and turned around to counter Asgore’s terrifying blow. It proved to be futile when they were sent flying back several miles away, the goat monster lunging at them immediately with furious attacks. Chara was certainly caught off guard as they could not fight back, simply retreating into the defense.

Meanwhile, Frisk no longer had the strength to stand on her feet and began to lose balance. Somehow this made Sans come back to his senses as he quickly moved to catch her, holding her tightly against his chest. He hadn’t even registered the bright cyan tears that had started to flood his eyesockets until the drops fell down onto her face, as he desperately prayed to any God that might be listening to let this be just another nightmare.

_But when had his wishes ever come true? He was destined to suffer._

_He had always been forced to watch his loved ones die, and he was a fool to think that he would ever be able to break out of that cycle._

“I’m…so sorry…” Frisk whispered with pain as she coughed out more blood, staining his favored blue hoodie. “I…broke my promise…”

“Why…?! Wh-why would…you…?!” Sans choked. “Why why why _whywhy **whywhywhywhy** —”_

Soon enough, the skeleton monster was a mess of sobs and cries as he clutched his human even tighter, as though it would bind her to this world and to not leave him. Frisk weakly reached out her hand, and he instantly grabbed it and pressed it to his cheekbone, feeling the warmth slowly leaving her body. She was in so much pain, her chest moved heavily up and down as she sucked in another breath. She knew her SOUL was going to burst out any moment, and it would remain intact long enough for Sans to take action.

They might not be able to subdue Chara now, as Gerson had said that it was not enough to defeat them. But Frisk knew that if Sans absorbed her SOUL, he would at least be able to get the rest of them out of the dome Chara had cast with their magic and to a safe place.

Sans tried to engrave his lover’s face into his memory, concentrating on the soft and sweet smile she was giving him even though he couldn’t see past his tears anymore and her skin was slowly losing its warm olive color. There were hidden words inside her sapphire hues, a certain meaning behind that look that was trying to send him a message. Sans immediately understood what had to come next, and that only made him more devastated as his bones rattled harshly.

“ **Stay determined, love…** ” She said with a gentle tone, her own tears running down her cheeks to meet with the blood that covered her chin.

“ _I love you…_ ” Sans’ tone was raucous and thick with emotion and agony.

Frisk’s smile turned sorrowful, as she struggled with her last breath.

“I love you…too… _my silly skelly_ …”

And then, he watched grievously as the light finally left her eyes, and as soon as reality started to kick in, that he truly had lost her for good…

He let out a loud, searing, and resonant scream.

Sans’ magic reacted to his emotions immediately, as it burst violently into a circular cyan wave, spreading rapidly across the area in a powerful motion, razing everything in its way. Papyrus had to conjure up a sturdy wall of bones to protect the others, whilst Asgore and Chara were blown back by the sheer force of the outburst. Right afterwards, Frisk’s bright red SOUL flew out of its body shell and hovered over her impaled torso, and the demon immediately snapped their head towards the direction of the skeleton monster holding his dead human as soon as they had sensed the floating life form.

“ **That SOUL is MINE!!!** ” They screeched terrifyingly as they dashed at Sans at once.

But they hadn’t been fast enough.

Sans took hold of the SOUL before Chara could get close enough, and a glaring white light blinded all of them, making Chara stop in their tracks and cover their eyes.

The white light soon faded to reveal Sans, completely transformed and filled with DETERMINATION coursing through his bones.

He had grown much taller, almost rivaling with Papyrus’ height, and there were purple spirit wings manifested by pure magic propping out of his back. His once blue hoodie was now a long-tailed dark blue coat and there was large grey fluff around his collar. There were no more of his signature basketball shorts and pink slippers, instead in their places were long black trousers and black ankle boots. What was most distinct though was his left eye; it was no longer a bright cyan blue, but now flashing between red and purple at the same time.

As predicted, Sans had fused his SOUL with Frisk’s, and now he was a completely different monster and much more powerful than he had ever been.

This did not please Chara _at all._

“ **How dare you, you pathetic worm!!! _How dare you rob me of what is mine!!!_ I WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING YOU HOLD DEAR AND TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB, YOU DAMN SKELETON!!! I WILL KILL YOU ALL!!!**”

The ground had begun to shake in an alarming magnitude during their enraged shout as they slowly flew above with their dark aura surrounding their body, and a lot of large fissures started to appear, opening wide enough to swallow everything whole. Several obsidian spikes protruded from every corner of the earth as magical blades materialized in the air as well, shooting in every direction. Chara’s magic had gone haywire as a reaction to their uncontrollable rage, and Sans knew he only had very limited time to get them all out of there, lest they become victims to the demon’s wrath. Toriel had unfortunately fallen into one of the crates and was barely holding onto one of the spikes to avoid falling down any further, whilst Asgore was in the same situation, but had managed to stab his trident into the side to hold on. Papyrus and Grillby was sprinting over the fissures and deflecting the blades whilst Mettaton had held Muffet in his arms and used his rocket booster under his boots to stay off the ground.

Without hesitation, Sans flew down to the largest crate and grabbed both Toriel and Asgore with each hand, before flying over to Papyrus. The younger skeleton caught on immediately and grabbed onto Toriel’s extended hand, all the while reaching out with his other hand to the fire elemental monster. Mettaton followed Sans closely as the latter flew directly upwards towards Chara’s barrier, mentally summoning a Gaster Blaster to hopefully make an opening for them. He first noticed that the animal skull was much larger than before, before he actually saw how it manifested into a dragon-like skeletal beast with bony wings, opening its big maw and blasted a powerful purple beam. What Sans expected as an opening turned out to be the barrier breaking down completely, and he couldn’t help but revel in this newfound power that he now possessed with a human SOUL.

An aching feeling in his ribcage halted his thoughts almost instantly, as he was once more struck with grief.

And as Chara’s enraged screams echoed throughout the sky, Sans just knew that this was most likely far from being the only tragedy he would have to face from then on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of Arc 1.


	15. Arc 2 - Ch.1: Survival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things will never be the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys~ I'm finally back after a month long of break with newfound motivation and the core of Arc 2 finally drafted! 
> 
> I swear I'm not dead and I'm not abandoning this fic T-T I am determined to finish my first big work and I hope you guys will still support me with comments and kudos!
> 
> Thank you so much for making this far into Dystopiantale, I'm so happy TvT

It was already too late to realize that, perhaps, being trapped under a mountain with a repeating lifestyle was still considerably better than living like… _this._

Sans had lost track of how much time had passed since they had been on the move, constantly travelling to the lands beyond their original shelter and avoiding the attacks of the Lost Souls and Chara’s active hunt for their blood and dust. It just wasn’t something you’d keep your mind on when you were trying to survive in a slowly decaying land. From the moment that they hand narrowly escaped Chara’s clutches, they all knew that they just couldn’t stay any longer near the fallen city, especially not when the demon had learned how to take control of the terrifying Lost Souls and use them to their advantage.

_~~Not when they had lost their Angel.~~ _

The surviving monsters had been devastated to learn of Frisk’s passing. She had always been their pillar of HOPE, the one who SAVED them from imprisonment and had given them guidance to integrate into society. They had only stayed at Mt. Ebott long enough to build a small memorial for their Princess, right at the exit where the barrier used to be before it was broken. It was Toriel’s place of choice, since she had felt it was the moment when they had truly got the taste of happiness, alongside their precious human. With the wonders of monster magic, a sturdy white marble statue of Frisk with angel wings was built in seconds, overlooking the deteriorating landscape below.

They had barely had anytime to mourn her death when the Lost Souls had gathered at the base of the mountain. Sans had single-handedly finished them off with his newfound powers, buying enough time for the others to escape before following closely behind.

Now, there was nowhere to go but forward without looking back.

* * *

Over the course of the next few days _(months? years?),_ they had been horrified to discover other waning towns and cities, all of them having fallen victim under the demon’s ruthless hands. The worst realization hit them when they had begun to question if Chara had truly wiped out the entire country, possibly the entire world. At this point, Sans had really believed that they were all just trying to run away from an inevitable death, and that all of his and Frisk’s efforts and will to salvage any HOPE that was erased from this timeline were in vain.

He was incapable of triggering a TRUE RESET as long as Chara is still breathing. His DETERMINATION combined with Frisk’s SOUL was still not enough to surpass theirs.

**It was _i n f u r i a t i n g ._**

Gerson’s words kept replaying over and over inside his mind. _Look beyond the surface._

What was there to look for if everything had already fallen apart?

* * *

Within the depths of a decrepit town, a human child was being chased down by five ravenous Lost Souls.

The little boy panted heavily, running as fast as his short and bruised legs would allow him, occasionally jumping and climbing over parts of ruins that once had been houses. However, run as he might, he just knew that he wouldn’t be able to escape from those decomposing walking carcasses. They were everywhere. Sooner or later, he would die, just like all humans and monsters unfortunate enough to cross their path. His family, his friends...

The child let out a pained gasp as he accidentally twisted his ankle, falling face first down the dusty ground. Tears quickly sprung to his eyes as he clutched his injured foot, a few miserable sobs escaping his mouth. He could hear the terrifying cries of the Lost Souls approaching him, their menacing aura and the smell of their decaying bodies making the air too thick to breathe. The boy trembled violently, squeezing his eyes shut and sobbing louder as he silently accepted his fate, only wishing for them to just end him quickly so he wouldn’t have to go through too much pain.

He almost felt one of them reaching out to grab his SOUL, when—

**_THUMP!_ **

****

The ground suddenly shook with tremor as something seemingly heavy landed from the sky, making the child jolt. He opened his eyes and lifted his head a little to see a very, _very_ colossal skeletal-draconic beast, crouching in a protective position in front of him and glowering at the walking corpses. He stared at the creature in bewilderment and also gratitude as it opened its large maw and blasted an incredibly powerful purple beam, reaping the Lost Souls of their undead lives. His jaw hung open in shock as the creature slowly turned around and lowered its skull to his level, a small irrational fear that it might hurt him as well coursed through his body at once. He weakly crawled backwards with a scared whimper, but the creature merely nuzzled his body with a soft growl, his fear evaporating in an instant and replaced with confusion and a little endearment.

“Don’t worry kid, he won’t hurt you,” An unfamiliar baritone voice spoke from behind the little boy. He turned around and was met with a tall, hooded skeleton monster. “He’s actually fond of kiddos like you. Aren’t you, boy? Who’s a good boy?”

Sans affectionately patted his pet’s muzzle as its huffed contently, excited for its owner’s praise. His eyelights shifted back to the kid, looking over his bruised and battered body and feeling a pang of pity for the little guy. A human child, left to fend for himself alone in a fallen town among hungry predators in the form of literal abominations. Sans’ fusioned SOUL gave a thump as a desire to SAVE enveloped his being, and he gently placed one hand over his chest with a bittersweet smile. It disappeared as quick as it came though, and he held out his hand to the kid whilst kneeling down on one knee as to tower less over him to appear friendlier.

“Come with me, kid. There are more survivors of this apocalypse like you and me, and we have a shelter somewhere where it’s safe from those monstrosities. We’ll take care of you.”

The little boy stared at him for a moment, seemingly unsure whether to trust this skeleton monster with his intimidatingly _humungous_ pet skeleton dragon, but eventually nodded with a small smile as he allowed Sans to take his hand. After all, he would have been dead if it hadn’t been for them.

The corner of Sans’s mouth lifted a little at the boy’s response. Young and alone, but brave enough to have survived this long on his own. The kid reminded him fondly of Frisk back when they had met in the Underground.

* * *

Taking in any remaining survivors of Chara’s treachery was no longer uncommon for them. Whether it was human, monster or anything in between, it was just in their natural moral sense and compassion to shelter those who had met the same unfortunate fate as them and just help each other to move forward within these arduous times.

So it was no surprise when Sans had shown up to their hideout with a child in need of care. He teleported them both into the main hall of their underground bunker where his brother had been waiting for his return.

“BROTHER! I’M GLAD TO SEE YOU BACK IN ONE PIECE!” Papyrus greeted him cheerfully. The younger skeleton was the only one who tried to remain optimistic these days, if only to be everyone’s moral support. “OH, I SEE YOU’VE BROUGHT ANOTHER SURVIVOR TO US!”

“Yeah, I found him while he was being attacked by some of those Lost Souls. Got rid of them and took the kiddo here,” Sans said. “He needs to have his legs looked at though, I think his ankle is injured or something.”

“I SEE! WORRY NOT, SMALL HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL INFORM MY FRIENDS AND THEY WILL TEND TO YOU RIGHT AWAY!” Papyrus crouched down to smile reassuringly that the child. “OUR QUEEN TORIEL IS AN EXPERT AT HEALING MAGIC HERSELF! YOU’LL BE BETTER IN NO TIME, NYEH HEH HEH!”

At that moment, both Undyne and Toriel entered the room from the back, having overheard the younger brother’s loud voice welcoming a newcomer to their shelter.

“OH, UNDYNE, YOUR MAJESTY, WHAT PERFECT TIMING! SANS HAS FOUND A SMALL HUMAN ALONE IN THE TOWN AND HAS SAVED HIM FROM THE MENACING LOST SOULS!”

“Woah, you were out there all alone against those freaks?” Undyne regarded the boy with shock and respect, a large grin on her face. “You’re a tough little punk, aren’t ya? A little dirty and beat up, but we’ll fix that real quick, don’t worry.”

Toriel gave the kid a warm smile as she approached him and placed a gentle paw on his shoulder, however it was quickly replaced with a frown as she gave Sans an indifferent glance.

“Well, it certainly is an improvement to hear that you have done your job right, this time around.”

“Aw, thanks for the praise. You _really_ didn’t have to,” The latter shot back with just as much coldness.

The atmosphere turned thick with discomfort.

“Y-your Majesty…Sans…” Undyne furrowed her brows, disturbed by the invisible tension between the skeleton and the goat monster. This wasn’t the first time they had been this passive aggressive since Frisk’s passing and they were all used to it by now, but it wasn’t ever easy to witness it.

Toriel ignored her and looked down kindly at the nervously fidgeting boy.

“Come, my child. I will heal your injuries and get you fed; there are surely some rations left that will be enough to fill your stomach.”

And with that, she disappeared into the back with the young human. Undyne sighed quietly whilst Papyrus wrung his hands.

“I take it you didn’t find anything during your scavenge for supplies?” She asked Sans with a defeated tone.

“What do you think, Undyne?” He replied with frustration. “There’s nothing left in this god damned town. And we’ll have to probably be on the move again, we’ve been staying here for too long and the Lost Souls under Chara’s influence might have caught up to us by now. I may have found some salvageable mechanical parts for Alphys to upgrade Mettaton, but that’s it.”

He threw a small bag of clinking metal materials on the wooden table and turned to leave. Returning empty-handed without food already angered him enough, and Toriel’s sarcastic remark really put a damper on his mood. Sans tugged on his hood to shadow his face entirely as he stepped out of the bunker.

“I’M GOING AFTER HIM,” Papyrus said. “HE’S STILL HAVING A HARD TIME DEALING WITH EVERYTHING. HE’S ALWAYS BEEN IN A SOMBER MOOD EVER SINCE…WELL…”

The fish monster’s expression turned sorrowful for a moment before nodding wordlessly. He wasted no more time as he quickly made his way out of the shelter to join his brother’s side.

Papyrus knew that they were all internally suffering and still mourning their human friend’s death, but he also knew that no one took it harder than Sans himself. He had to bear the responsibility of absorbing her SOUL and Toriel’s undying resentment (she always played the blame card so well) for his inability to protect her, as well as living with the guilt that she sacrificed herself for him.

After catching a glimpse of just how much Sans was hurting, the tall skeleton had made it his duty that he would always be his emotional rock and show him support during these treacherous times. This moment was no exception.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep in mind that Frisk is not truly dead, she's still somewhere in Sans' SOUL and mind ;)
> 
> I wrote this while remembering Chara and Asriel's backstory, the part where Asriel went to the surface after fusing his SOUL with Chara's. It was actually canon that they could both control his actions as they were two parts of one mind. 
> 
> I tried to apply the same thing here, but with a slight difference. This will be more visible in future chapters.


	16. Arc 2 - Ch.2: What's Left Of Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the end, all we have left are memories. 
> 
> Bits and pieces of the time we've spent together. 
> 
> No matter how long that time was, it'll never seem like enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A detailed hindsight into Sans' thoughts and grieving.

A scowl that seemed to have become semi-permanent decorated Sans’ skull when he heard footsteps behind him. He assumed it was Undyne wanting to berate him for the little scene between him and Toriel, but he was surprised to hear none other than his brother’s voice.

“SANS, IT’S MY TURN TO GUARD, YOU KNOW,” Papyrus slowly approached him, speaking gently.

“It’s fine, Paps. You should go to rest.”

“IF THERE’S ANYONE HERE WHO NEEDS TO REST, IT IS YOU,” He sighed. “I AM…worried about you, brother...”

Sans tried not to startle at his change of tone. Papyrus was never soft-spoken; his boisterous voice always accompanied his eccentric personality. There were only a few times where he would actually use his inside voice, when he was scared or very concerned.

The older skeleton began to mentally kick himself for not putting up a better façade. Why did he always have to be such a burden to everyone he cared about?

“You barely even sleep anymore, you’re always training and everything,” Papyrus continued, stepping closer to his brother who was still keeping his back to him. “You’ve stopped looking after your health and I don’t know if I can accept that.”

Sans inhaled deeply.

“I’m learning to use my new powers, bro. Gotta get used to it and find out all of the strengths and weaknesses if I want to have a better chance at killing that demon,” He replied simply, keeping his voice neutral.

“You could at least rest more,” Papyrus disagreed.

There was a deafening silence for a moment; all that could be heard was the screeching sound of the cold wind flying by. And then, after swallowing the bile in his non-existent throat, Sans spoke up again with a slight tremor in his tone.

“…I can’t sleep. When I do, all I dream about is losing _her_.”

The younger skeleton didn’t dare utter a word, but he simply approached him close enough to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. It was strange how Sans was almost rivaling with his own height now, when he used to be so much shorter. In retrospect, Papyrus was shocked to realize just how much his dear older brother had changed over the course of time, back when things were still peaceful and only laughter and joy filled the air. Sans had used to goof around all day with his silly puns, sleeping at random places around the house or drowning himself in one of those science books related to his work. He had used to smile so genuinely, and he had been soaring to the clouds whenever Frisk had been with him. They had been happy. All of them had.

And now all that was left of the punny skeleton monster he once knew was a bitter bag of bones who was hurting for a very hurtful pain.

And maybe Papyrus himself too had changed, maybe he was no longer as ignorant and grotesquely optimistic as before, maybe he was finally feeling the true weight of reality and hardship, maybe it was appropriate for everything that had happened…but he couldn’t bear to see how much agonized and self-destructive Sans had become, and he was sure that Frisk wouldn’t want her lover to do this to himself either.

Perhaps he had never been good enough at being realistic, but there was something that only he could do best—be a supportive (and great) brother.

“You know you can talk to me about anything,” He softly coaxed.

There were drops of purple tears that ran down Sans’ cheekbones as a humorless and breathless laugh escaped his mouth.

 _Funny, I thought I ran out of those_ _by now._

“That’s just it, Papyrus, there’s _nothing_ to talk about,” One of his hands came up to tug harder on his hood to fully cover his tear-stained face, his words bitter and pained. “This is all that’s left of us, just fleeting memories and broken promises.”

_~~Why did you leave me?~~ _

_~~You promised you promised yo **u pRoMiSed YoU pRoMiSeD—**~~ _

_~~I promised I would protect her why was I **sO uSeLeSs—**~~ _

Sans chocked on a sob before letting himself fall on the ground with a “ _thump!_ ” in a sitting position. He bit harshly on his malleable bony lips, sniffing quietly. Papyrus didn’t hesitate to lower himself to the ground as well, wrapping his entire long arm around his shoulders.

“I…I can still hear _her_ sometimes in my mind, you know,” The older monster said between hiccups, his free hand clutching at the front of his coat where his aching SOUL lied beneath his ribcage. He couldn’t bring himself to even say her name, it was too painful. “I can still…feel _her_ presence and…and _her_ emotions…And it’s…it’s by no means better than having _her_ by my side but…I suppose it’s somewhat of a…solace.”

His brother held him tighter, his own SOUL mourning for Sans and his dear friend.

“I…Sometimes, I like to th-think…that _she_ hasn’t truly left me…but it would never, _never_ change the fact that _she_ had to s-sacrifice _her_ life for me because I had been so… _weak and powerless._ ”

The younger skeleton waited patiently until Sans had dried his tears and had calmed down from his moment of grief, never loosening his side embrace. Once he was sure that he could talk, Papyrus took a deep breath and spoke with as much support and comfort as he could muster, whilst also remaining stern for a bit of a tough love.

“Brother, listen to me,” He began seriously, a rare moment for Sans to see which actually baffled the latter. “I understand completely that you feel guilty and inadequate, believe me, _I do._ But you should also understand that to truly move on from this tragedy, you need to _forgive_ yourself. I am certain that Frisk knew exactly what she was doing at the time; she knew that it was for the greater good. She may be d-dead, but her SOUL lives on inside _you,_ and that means she is still here with us all. Frisk wouldn’t want you to be like this. She would want you to stay strong.”

_Stay determined._

Those had been her last words.

Sans stared wide-eyed at his brother, before rare small smile appeared on his face. At the same time, a strong surge of warmth and love flowed within him and it eased his agony almost instantly. He chuckled slightly, wiping at the dried traces of tears with his sleeve.

“Heh, yeah…You’re…you’re right, Papy. I’ll…I’ll try, at the very least,” He sighed with defeat.

“B-BESIDES, I DO THINK IT’S TIME YOU RESOLVE YOUR LITTLE CONFLICT WITH THE QUEEN SOON,” Papyrus’ voice unknowingly returned to its usual volume as he fidgeted nervously.

Sans dismissed it straight away.

“Paps, I’ll admit my fault for many things, but I won’t admit my fault for her playing the blame card against me, just like how she did with Asgore all those years ago,” He frowned. “Toriel is stubborn and petty. Why should I waste my time trying to talk to her when she won’t even listen to what I have to say? She resents me for causing this whole mess in the first place, and for being unable to protect _her._ She probably resents me for absorbing her daughter’s SOUL too.”

 _Though I don’t really blame her for those last two bits,_ he thought sadly to himself.

After all, Sans _did_ promise Toriel he would keep her child safe way back when they had still been underground.

Papyrus apparently thought otherwise.

“IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT, SANS. IN THE END, THE ONLY THING ANY OF US COULD DO NOW IS TO MOVE FORWARD AND FIND A SOLUTION TO END THIS APOCALYSPE,” He flashed his greatest encouraging smile. “IT WON’T BE EASY, ESPECIALLY FOR YOU, BUT I WILL BE WITH YOU THROUGH EVERY STEP OF THE WAY, BROTHER.”

“Thanks bro, you’re really the coolest,” Sans looked at his sibling with gratitude, returning his one-armed hug. “I love you.”

“I LOVE YOU TOO. NOW GO TO REST!”

* * *

The following day, they all gathered in front of the entrance to be ready to leave their shelter behind in search for a new one, in a new town or city. They always had to be careful and cover up their tracks, as well as be on the quick move in order to avoid any undesirable attacks ( _or worse,_ there was no need to elaborate on that one, really). Sans was always the one to scout ahead and eliminate any foreseeable enemies and making sure the coast is clear before they could leave.

After making sure that there were no Lost Souls in sight, especially the ones that Chara had taken control over, he flew back to the group with his Gaster Blaster dragon, standing on its skull, and actively keeping an eyesocket out as they departed.

However, trouble often had a funny way of finding the _best_ timing to show itself.

After about half an hour, a hoard of Lost Souls under the demonic influence suddenly busted out of the earth, having chosen the perfect way to hide themselves to ambush the group. Undyne and Papyrus immediately sprang into action as Sans’ pet dived down at once and landed heavily on the ground, creating a physical shield between the undead corpses and the others. It had been decided at the beginning of the survival journey that the three of them would be the ones to cover their escape should this sort of situation happen, since they were the strongest out of all of them. The King and Queen would be the ones to quickly help the rest of them evacuate as they were wise and the people looked up to them as their leaders and protectors.

Sans’ left eye flickered purple and red, the colors of his power and his DETERMINATION.

 _Their_ DETERMINATION.

“ **I ’ l l m a k e y o u r s e c o n d d e a t h m o r e p a i n f u l t h a n y o u r l a s t** **,** ” His low, threatening voice boomed dangerously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you say anything about Papyrus being one of "The Big Three", lemme explain. 
> 
> I personally think that he is as strong as Sans, in canon. There are a lot of implications that Papyrus is only holding back in his fight during Pacifist/Neutral Route is because he doesn't have the heart (literally, lol) to really hurt anyone, not even you. Papyrus is one of the most kind and innocent monsters in the entire underground. 
> 
> That being said, Sans is extremely powerful. Papyrus seems to have come from the same place as Sans, and therefore it's very plausible for him to be just as powerful, if not more, than his brother. So naturally, I put him on the same level as Sans and Undyne. 
> 
> If you have any more doubts/question, why don't you go check out Disbelief Papyrus? That's proof enough.


	17. Arc 2 - Ch.3: Ambushed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They did not expect for the Lost Souls to have changed so much under Chara's magic.
> 
> But they will FIGHT off any obstacle that the demon may throw at them, if only to survive for a bit longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, some action sequence featuring the Big Three of the gang!
> 
> Oh, and I'll leave some of the reference pictures here if you'd like to have a more concluded image of some of the details in this chapter!
> 
> Chara's Lost Souls: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9a/a2/49/9aa249ca182b3d888b18b94ec277a57f.jpg
> 
> Sans' twin blades: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8e/a1/b9/8ea1b90163386a88cdb78a0b68d942b1.jpg
> 
> Sans' left eye magic array: https://c7.uihere.com/files/658/892/9/magic-circle-hexagram-purple-the-star-of-david-purple-magic-thumb.jpg
> 
> Sans' bow (it's blue in the picture but in the story it's purple like his magic): https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a6/3a/98/a63a98cbbfa050a85602efc4d8ba5da6.jpg

“Just keep going forward, and do not turn back no matter what!” Undyne hollered over her shoulder at the group, only receiving a firm nod from the King before he and Toriel led the others away as quick as possible.

The moment that their prey slipped through their fingers, the demonic Lost Souls immediately pounced, their enhanced agility and strength giving them an incredible boost in the air, quickly closing the distance between them and the retreating apocalypse survivors. With a rapid horizontal wave of his arm, Sans conjured up a strong wave of purple energy to blow them all back as his GB slammed its long and sturdy tail onto the ground behind the three monsters, resulting in the earth crumbling down and giving way to an enormous crater, effectively separating the battlefield from the rest of the area and allowing their comrades to escape without much fear.

“Go with the others, protect them and get them to safety,” The hooded skeleton patted his pet’s skull as he jumped down, standing in a defensive position, his grin cold and menacing. The colossal beast let out an obedient gruff before spreading its skeletal wings and soared towards the direction of the withdrawing group.

The FIGHT had begun. The pawns whom served as the shadows of the treacherous demon charged at the monsters, their bodies deforming into a sickening and mutated shape with large tentacles sprouting out of their backs, a terrifying large mouth with sharp white fangs replacing their heads and extra sets of eyes popping out from their now engorged shoulders. Their skin was a repulsive color of black, dripping with some sort of repugnant liquid. There were at least two dozen of them.

Chara’s dark magic had transformed the Lost Souls under their influence completely, no doubt to use them as a deadly weapon against their enemies.

 _Fighting magic with magic, huh,_ Sans thought amusedly to himself. How pathetic that they thought they had to use some kind of advantage in order to battle. Maybe the demon had truly started to feel uncertain because of his new transformation.

Undyne formed a bright blue spear in her hand, moving directly in front of the lunging mutants and stabbed her weapon into the ground. Instantly, hundreds of spears burst out from below, killing off a few of the Lost Souls that hadn’t been fast enough to leap into the air. Papyrus immediately summoned several bone attacks and his own blasters to counter them, jumping forward to physically subdue them himself with two large sharpened femurs as well. Sans’ spirit wings shot out from his back as he flew up, his hands wielding two twin blades that he had manifested and mercilessly striking down the freaks with precision, a trail of purple magic ghosting behind each slash he dealt.

_They’re regenerating, and fast. Some of them are much smarter than others and are dodging our attacks with expertise._

A soft and melodic voice rang inside his mind. Sans stopped short and eyed Undyne and Papyrus who were having quite a hard time evading deadly tentacles that seemed to elongate out of will and shooting from every direction. And, true to _her_ words, some of the Lost Souls were indeed very agile, the numerous bones and spears that were launched at them missed completely.

_Behind you!_

Sans whipped his head around just in time to cut off two dripping appendages that almost caught his wings and dashed down, driving one of his blade through the monstrosity’s head ( _mouth...?_ ). To his utter shock, the thing did not die instantly like a normal Lost Soul would, instead, its viscid matter clamped down on his weapon, making it impossible for him to pull it out. A drop of sweat ran down his skull as the creature attempted to grab him, but he quickly chopped its arms off and summoned a large purple bone to protrude from underground and impale it. The Lost Soul shrieked in pain and Sans took the opportunity to detach his blade from its head and withdrew himself, putting distance between them.

“They just keep coming back, damn it!” The fish monster roared in anger as she kicked one of the mutants to the side and decapitated another one, but stared wide-eyed in horror when its head grew back as if nothing had happened. “How are we supposed to kill them off like this?!”

“THEY HAVE TO HAVE A WEAKNESS!” The younger skeleton shouted over the howls of the pernicious creatures. One of them swiped their large claws at him and he barely dodged it by leaping backwards.

_Their chests,_ the gentle voice in Sans’ mind spoke up once more, _look at their chests. There are no hollow spaces like ordinary Lost Souls. Something must be in there._

Something akin to a magic array appeared over his flashing left eye as he glanced over at the demonic abominations. He soon realized he was staring right through the surface of their bodies, revealing a bright crimson glow beneath their mucilaginous torsos. Sans internally marveled at his newfound ability, and as an encouraging warmth spread throughout his body from his SOUL, he found his grin becoming a tad softer before it turned into a dark smirk.

Flying upwards to ensure a good field of view for his next attack, the skeleton monster turned the blades in his hands and raised his arms over his head, merging the handles together. A bright purple glow enveloped them and dissipated a second later to reveal a glowing majestic bow, surpassing his height in size. The magic array remained hovering over Sans’ magical eye as he pulled the string backwards, a large arrow forming with his movement. He aimed at the Lost Soul closest to his brother, making sure to wait for the right moment. As soon as Papyrus had sensed his intention, the younger skeleton quickly rolled out of the way, thus creating the perfect opening.

Sans took the shot, and the arrow pierced directly through the red glow beneath the monstrosity’s skin. It howled excruciatingly before its entire being melted into nothing but a viscous puddle of black ooze.

“Bullseye,” He chuckled victoriously.

“SO THAT IS THEIR WEAKNESS!” Papyrus enthusiastically pumped his fist into the air. “GREAT JOB, BROTHER! WE SHALL AIM FOR THE CENTER OF THEIR CHEST TO BE RID OF THEM! NYEH HEH HEH!”

“NGAHHH!” Undyne let out a battle cry as she ruthlessly drove her spear into the Lost Soul’s thorax, delighting in the way it cried in pain before dissolving. “Well damn bone boy, you could have figured that out much sooner to save us the time!”

Sans merely shrugged and repeated his attack on the remaining mutants, only this time the single arrows multiplied into threes as soon as they were shot.

“Don’t be jealous that I’m much more observant and strategic in battle than you, fish stick,” He teased her with a slight _humerus_ tone.

The ‘fish stick’ in question disposed of another Lost Soul, then swiftly turning on her heels to glower at him.

“Are you really getting cocky on me, you little—”

But before she could finish the friendly insult, a tentacle belonging to the half fallen mutant broke through her armor and stabbed through her stomach.

Papyrus shouted her name with a mortified expression whilst Sans’ eyesockets widened in shock.

* * *

Alphys doubled over in pain.

“Agh!” She cried out, clutching at her abdomen as tears sprung to her closed eyes. Mettaton, who had been right beside her, stopped in his track at once and draped his metallic arms over her back to support her.

“Alphys, darling!” His brows creased in concern. “What’s wrong?! Are you feeling ill?!”

His hasty voice had caught the attention of Asgore, who simply ushered his wife to keep moving with the others as he rapidly made his way towards the lizard and the humanoid robot. He looked slightly more intimidating now with his broken right horn and the large scar across his muzzle (a painful reminder of _that_ battle with Chara to which he had lost _her_ to), but the monster King still exuded his usual attentiveness and benevolence as he crouched down and spoke to the former scientist with a worried tone.

“Are you all right, my friend?” He asked. “Did something happen?”

“Oh…oh no…no no no no no,” She only responded with sobs and sputters of denial. “Th-this can’t be…no…oh _stars_ please no…”

Asgore and Mettaton traded uneasy glances before the latter inquired her with a slight panic filling in his chest.

“Darling, what are you talking about? Talk to us, please,” He pleaded.

One hand still holding tightly onto her stomach, Alphys wiped at the falling tears that ran down her orange scaled cheeks, displacing her glasses in the process. That did little in stopping them from coming as her SOUL clenched painfully, the horrifying realization dawning upon her of the deadly injury that had been inflicted upon her mate, their unbreakable bond allowing her to feel the same searing pain.

“It’s…it’s Undyne,” She chocked. “Sh-she’s been badly hurt...!”

An emotion of dread washed over them all as a nagging fear that their finest warrior had met the worst kind of fate pulled at their frightened SOULS.

After what seemed like an eternity, Asgore swallowed thickly.

“I-I am sure that Sans and Papyrus will be able to aid her as best as they could,” He tried to ease the tension with a confident tone, however it was clear that his words contradicted his true thoughts. “Undyne is very strong, and very determined. An injury will not be enough to put her down.”

Alphys continued to sob quietly as Mettaton tightened his grip around her, looking up at the goat monster with uncertainty.

“What should we do, Your Majesty?”

“We musn’t turn back, no matter what,” Asgore recited Undyne’s warning with a heavy sigh. He wanted nothing more than to return to his formerly adopted charge and make sure she was okay, but the current circumstance forbade it. “We have to keep going, lest anymore undesirable enemy have the chance to attack us.”

_Lest **they** catch us vulnerable and off guard._

Besides, he had faith in the skeleton brothers. And he definitely had faith that Undyne would survive whatever damage brought upon her.

“There is a forest ahead, it would no doubt make a suitable hiding place for now,” The King continued. “Let us quickly catch up to the others and pray that our fighters will return to our side without anymore casualties.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A wise writer once said: "You can't be an official fanfiction writer if you don't have a tumblr account where your readers would pressure you non-stop into updating the next chapter."
> 
> Yes, I'm considering to open my own tumblr blog where I'll share the next chapters of Dystopiantale, post upcoming ideas for new works and just shitpost Frans related content. (Might get into some drawing once I buy a new computer to go with my wacom.)
> 
> I'll think about it and tell you guys in the next chapter.
> 
> P.S: Please leave a comment! It motivates me. ^_^ And thank you so much for the 38 kudos, love you all so much~


	18. A/N

Hello my fellow readers! Now, I am very aware that it's almost been a year since I've updated. I wanted to reassure you that I only decided to take a very long break because I started enrolling in college and I fell out of the fandom for a little bit while.

But now I'm back and I feel ready to continue the story again, and I would be very grateful and happy if you would continue supporting me and read Dystopiantale. It's my first big work on AO3 and I have every intention to finish it and I'm already so proud and overjoyed to see how many kudos, comments and reads I have gotten despite the long hiatus.

Thank you all so much, and I will see you in the next chapter. <3

P.S: I don't like my fanfic to have unnecessary clutters, so the this A/N will be replaced with the new chapter once it's done.


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